A Practical Lesson in Maritime Law

Kim Jefferies, Senior Claims Executive and Legal Advisor, Gard Ltd

How I ended up practicing maritime law – and managing insurance claims in a small town in Norway – is a story of chance, luck and following my instincts. My introduction to a maritime legal practice was the result of a referral in the 1980s from a mentor, George Joseph. Joseph, who at the time was chief of the Oregon Court of Appeals, introduced me to the people at Wood Tatum, a firm that represented the Norwegian company, Gard, for claims in Oregon. I knew nothing about maritime law but was intrigued by its international flavor. After six years as a partner, I had the opportunity to take a sabbatical and arranged to spend part of the time working with Gard. My husband and our 2- and 5-year-old sons spent June 1997 in Arendal, a town of 40,000 inhabitants on the southern coast of Norway. While Randy and the boys spent time sightseeing and at the beach, I wrote memos on such subjects as the application of the package limitation under the U.S. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act. Work started at 8:15 a.m. and ended at 3:30 p.m. It remained light until 11 p.m., so there was plenty of time to enjoy the Norwegian summer with my family.

Read full paper Subscribe to the IICJ
Norway Maritime Shipping January 2022 Vol.15, No. 58, Winter 2022

Kim Jefferies

More

Kim Jefferies joined Gard in November 1999 as part of the people claims group and then moved to the casualty environment and property claims group before acting as vice president for charterers and traders claims. Her current role is special claims adviser and editor for Gard’s digital publication, Insight. For a detailed account of P&I insurance, maritime law and liability claims, see the “Gard Guidance on Maritime Claims and Insurance” available on the Gard website www.gard.no. Information about the International Group is available at www.Igpandi.org. This short video depicts the lives of ex-patriates within the business community in Arendal: https://vimeo.com/148986262.

Gard Ltd

More

Norway Maritime Shipping January 2022 Vol.15, No. 58, Winter 2022