Law firm Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) has appointed Paul Dean as head of its shipping practice.

Dean succeeded George Eddings on April 1, 2013, when Eddings was promoted to managing partner.

A member of the India Maritime Association in the UK and of the Marine Personnel Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce, Dean specialises in dispute resolution arising from marine and offshore matters, including charter parties, bills of lading, shipbuilding, collisions, fire and explosion, salvage, general average, groundings, total loss, towage, seismic and limitation.

He previously worked with an international group for protection and indemnity (P&I) club.

Commenting on his new position, Dean says: “I am excited by this new challenge. HFW’s shipping practice is world-renowned and as such, we are leading the way in tackling some of the major legal issues affecting our industry. Our expertise in both the marine and offshore sectors means we are well-placed to take advantage of the significant opportunities we are seeing in the Asia Pacific region in particular.”

Since July 2008, HFW’s admiralty group has acted in over 100 cases of hijackings and kidnappings on vessels and rigs in Somalia and West Africa.