[CML Port Side AY25 Sem 2 EOT Student Alumni Dinner] ‘Contracts, Acquisitions and Piracy: All in a day’s work for an in-house maritime lawyer‘ by Nicholas Fell, BW Group

The Centre for Maritime Law (CML) at NUS Law organised its third Port Side event for 2026 on 24 April 2026 where recent graduates joined us and our students studying maritime law for an evening of networking to marking the end of the academic year.  The event started was an early evening talk by Mr Nicholas (Nick) Fell, Executive Vice President, Corporate Services & General Counsel of  BW Group who shared his experience as an in-house maritime lawyer with the students.

In his presentation, Nick addressed a not too uncommon thought that crosses the mind of many practising maritime lawyers, ‘What if I went in-house?’ He noted that in-house lawyers, particularly those with big shipping companies are required to handle a wide portfolio of work. For example, shipping companies such as BW Group, are parent to various companies with different specialisations, and in-house lawyers can expect to deal with more than just the shipping sector, as many such companies have their own green-energy arms or other spinoffs.

The in-house lawyer operates at the intersection of law and business and must apply commercial acumen alongside legal skills. Salaried in-house lawyer should treat and treasure its internal clients—such as colleagues from the Human Resources, Information Technology, Insurance, and Tax departments—as if they were external clients. Routine transactions and normal negotiations with counterparties to avoid acrimonious litigation or arbitration, are juggled with large transactions (eg, acquisitions of ships or other companies, joint ventures) and handling a wide variety of contracts; from shipbuilding, insurance, to software contracts. There is also the aspect of regulatory compliance where the in-house advises the company’s Board on corporate governance matters, as well as educating colleagues.

Nick concluded, towards the end of his presentation, that contrary to some perceptions, the in-house maritime lawyer’s work life can be incredibly dynamic. Afterall, shipping is in the ‘24-hours’ business, but one would find fulfil precisely because of its dynamic nature.

The evening ended with a dinner reception where our alumni as well as graduating students networked and exchanged experiences over dinner and drinks.

CML would like to thank Mr Nick Fell, fellow advisory board members as well as our alumni members for taking time to join us, and making this an enriching evening for our students.

CML Port Side is an initiative to provide opportunities for students and young alumni members to engage with the local maritime law community and, by doing so, increase the visibility of the career opportunities this industry offers.