Adrian Scales is a Chartered Master Mariner (CMMar). He joined Brookes Bell in January 2007 from a position as Master with P&O Ferries (Irish Sea) Ltd., and became Director of Nautical in 2021.  He has considerable ship handling experience on various vessel types and gained pilotage exemption certificates for ports visited during employment with P&O. During his 18 years at sea, he served on various ship types including  reefer/container, general cargo, freight ferries, Ro-Pax ferries and High-Speed Passenger Craft (HSC).

I am a partner in the dispute resolution division of Burness Paull. Along with team members spread across our three offices I specialise in the defence of reparation claims including personal injury, infrastructure damage and a wide variety of other negligence based disputes. I work with corporates, insurers, public sector clients and professionals in representing their interests in court proceedings. 

I have significant experience in defending personal injury claims from the marine, offshore and construction industries. These are often high value and complex disputes involving contractual, indemnity and cross-border issues. I am a trusted advisor to clients with long-tail liabilities for industrial diseases including asbestos, industrial deafness and HAVs. 

I represent owners, operators and other employers of those working on offshore installations and onboard a wide variety of vessels from OSVs to ferries and from cruise ships to fishing boats. I am often instructed by clients in the immediate aftermath of an incident to carry out urgent investigations and represent their interests with the relevant regulators, from the police and HSE to MAIB and MCA. 

I also represent clients in contentious and non-contentious commercial shipping matters including ship arrest, cargo claims, surveyor negligence and the drafting of, and claims arising from, charterparties. I hold a post-graduate diploma in Maritime Law and have consistently achieved a ranking by Chambers and Partners for Shipping in Scotland, and previously as a “rising star” in Personal Injury, Defendant.

Andrew Waller is an ISO 9712 level 3 non-destructive testing engineer who has worked in the aerospace, nuclear and marine industries as an inspector and consultant. He specialises in the use of conventional and advanced electromagnetic techniques and has been at Brookes Bell since January 2023.

He is certified by both the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) and the American Society of Non-Destructive Testing (ASNT) in multiple methods including eddy current testing (welds & tubular products), alternating current field measurement and ultrasonic testing (welds). He is also chair of the Eddy Current Array working group at BINDT.

Andrew has extensive experience in developing and utilising advanced electromagnetic NDT techniques for the detection and analysis of the varied failure mechanisms prevalent in aerostructures, pressure vessels, gas turbines, heat exchangers and ship’s structure. He routinely utilises specialised NDT instruments such as the Eddyfi Ectane, Zetec MIZ-21-C, Olympus Omniscan, Eddyfi Lyft and TSC AMIGO 2.  

Bruce Craig leads the litigation team in Aberdeen as a litigation and regulatory partner specialising in health & safety, shipping and commercial disputes.

He is mainly involved in legal disputes in offshore energy and shipping, and also in health & safety cases. He has spoken at conferences in the UK and abroad on various topics including charter-parties. He is a contributor to an annual on-line publication on the law of ship arrest and one of the few solicitors in private practice in the UK certificated to go offshore. 

Christian Benedictsen-Nislev is an experienced shipping and transport attorney. 

Christian has a right of audience before the Danish Supreme Court and is recognised by Chambers, The Legal 500 and Who's Who Legal within Shipping and Transport. 

In particular, he advises Danish and international transport and insurance companies as well as ports and public authorities and other businesses in the shipping and transport sectors.  

He also assists enterprises dealing with international trade and transport. 

Christian’s advisory services extend to all aspects of shipping, transport and international trade. He advises on structuring and operations and provides assistance regarding shipbuilding contracts, the sale and purchase of ships and goods as well as financing, commercial contracts and corporate transactions. 

In addition, he has vast experience of litigation and arbitration, including disputes concerning shipping, transport law, insurance and disclosure requirements applying to listed companies. Acting for clients such as A.P. Møller-Mærsk A/S, he has conducted and been successful in several cases of general public importance before the Danish courts. 

Furthermore, Christian advises on regulatory issues and tendering procedures. 

Christian is a qualified English solicitor and has extensive knowledge of English law and the common-law system. He provides advice on legal matters in both civil-law and common-law jurisdictions.

Christian has completed an Executive MBA in International Shipping and Logistics, which lends a deep commercial understanding and strategic insight to his advisory services. 

He has also co-authored and co-published several publications.

Having spent in excess of a decade at sea and enjoyed a thrilling and rewarding career I tentatively stepped ashore in 2008. From then I have been involved in dispute resolution and the practice of law working in private practice and in house. I qualified as a solicitor in March 2014. 

During that time I have advised clients on all aspects of shipping and travel law from small personal injury cases to the largest marine casualties, including one involving the closure of an Indian port. The blend of legal skills and the experienced I gained at sea , allows me to interact with insurers, owners, charterers, salvors and regulators to build relationships and quickly get to the heart of any issue.

I specialise on all aspects of maritime law including marine casualty, bill of lading disputes, charter party issues, regulatory investigations and all issue arising out of the carriage of passengers. I take instructions from a variety of different clients including H&M insurers, P&I Clubs, Owners, Charterers and Salvors.

Frithjof Herlofsen has more than 25 years of experience specialising in all aspects of shipping and transport law, including salvage, GA settlements, cargo claims, charter party disputes, bills of lading, MOAs, shipbuilding and repair contracts, marine insurance (cover disputes, P&I, FDD, H&M, cargo insurance etc), marine incidents, arrest, forced use and sales as well as tort and contract disputes. 

Frithjof is admitted to the Norwegian Supreme Court and heads the Norwegian Bar Association's Committee on Insurance Law.

Herlofsen has argued more than 100 cases in arbitrations and before the Norwegian courts, including seven cases before the Norwegian Supreme Court. Herlofsen is also frequently appointed as arbitrator, both in ad hoc arbitrations as well as under the NOMA Procedural Rules. 

Frithjof is recognized as a market leading Norwegian offshore and shipping litigation lawyer and highly ranked in Legal 500 ("Recommended Individual"/"Hall of Fame") and Chambers and Partners (ranked in Band 1).

Greg is a Partner, based in Scotland and focused on regulatory law and litigation. He acts for insurers, corporations and individuals across a broad range of sectors including construction, defence, energy, financial services, maritime, retail and transport. Greg represents clients facing the full range of regulatory, compliance, criminal court and road traffic prosecutions ranging from minor incidents to high profile disputes. He also represents directors and senior officers facing regulatory and compliance issues including anti money laundering, data protection, data breaches, cyber risks and regulatory reporting obligations. With over 20 years’ experience at the sharp end of regulatory law and investigations, Greg brings a deep understanding of both the legal requirements of a matter under investigation and the investigative methods used by UK regulators and prosecutors. He takes a pragmatic approach to the difficult issues his clients face and has forged a hard won and nationally recognised reputation for excellence and success at court. Greg’s focus is on helping his clients successfully navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape and continues to win the cases that others have said cannot be won. Crucially, he also provides them with pro-active advice in their dealings with criminal and regulatory agencies with the aim of avoiding prosecution, including advice on the design and improvement of internal policies and procedures, to promote cultural change and reduce risk.

Imogen is an international casualty lawyer who specialises in supporting insurers, risk carriers and corporates / organisations operating in the sports sector.

Imogen manages the full range of claims involving catastrophic / fatal injuries, serious property losses and commercial disputes. Her expertise includes civil claims (EL, PL, Product Liability and Motor), health and safety / criminal prosecutions and Inquest proceedings, as well as advising on coverage questions and disputes. Imogen has extensive experience of supporting clients in various industry sectors including construction, manufacturing, engineering, retail, marine and hospitality.

Many of the claims Imogen manages are high profile and reputationally sensitive as well as legally complex. Imogen’s clients value her ability to quickly understand her clients’ aims, cut to the key issues in a case and develop a focussed strategy to deliver the best possible result. Her clients receive the service they have come to expect regardless of whether a claim arises in the UK or internationally.

Imogen also regularly assists clients with mapping risk exposure, and developing and implementing bespoke risk management and claims defensibility strategies.

An Intel scholar, John graduated with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland in 2000. As part of his degree he developed an automatic moisture sensor for use in the peat industry for which he was awarded the Hewlett Packard national award for innovation in engineering.

After a brief period with Schlumberger Oilfield Services in Peru, John returned to Ireland to take up a position with Teradyne Connection Systems, before joining Timoney Technology as a mechanical design engineer, where he specialised in the design and development of Hydropneumatic Suspension Systems for specialty off road vehicles. In this role he also gained considerable experience with computer aided engineering techniques such as Finite Element Analysis and Vehicle Multi-body Dynamic Analysis.

John was appointed engineering manager with Timoney Technology and took over full technical responsibility for all engineering projects and products. Projects of note include the DARPA Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle, the USMC Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Vehicle and the Timoney ADT Independent Suspension Axle System manufactured under licence by Terex Equipment Ltd.

John was also involved with the Ginaf Rally Power and DeRooy race teams for the 2007 Dakar Rally and has numerous automotive suspension patents filed in his name.

In 2007, John joined Hawkins, and in 2016 he became the Regional Manager of our Glasgow Office. John specialises in the investigation of fires, explosions, escapes of fluid, engineering failures, personal injuries – particularly those involving plant and machinery, building damage resulting from water ingress, and road traffic accidents. His level of experience in the design of heavy-duty off-road vehicles gives him a unique insight into incidents involving HGVs.

John has a detailed knowledge of the health and safety regulatory framework in the UK and of how relevant regulations apply to the design, development, provision and use of plant and machinery in industry. Since joining Hawkins, he has investigated over 700 incidents, ranging from small domestic losses to major and complex incidents involving serious injuries and fatalities. He has produced expert reports for Pursuers and Defenders and has given expert evidence in the Court of Session and in the Sheriff Courts. He has also been appointed, via the National Crime Agency, to assist Police Scotland in criminal investigations and has prepared reports for criminal defence lawyers. He is known for his attention to detail, his pragmatic approach, and his ability to explain complex engineering matters in a way that is clear and easy for non-technical readers to understand.

John presents regularly on topics such as the forensic investigation of fires and escapes of water, as well as on health and safety related topics, at events organised by the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, the Chartered Insurance Institute, insurance companies and law firms.

Stephan joined the UK Maritime Authority in 2005 working first in search and rescue co-ordination and later pollution and salvage response. He served as Deputy to the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP) with the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) until 2018 before being appointed to the role of SOSREP.

Stephan works closely with all stakeholders involved in casualty response. He is the UK Competent Authority for wreck removal and for designating places of refuge for vessels requiring assistance. Stephan works with national and international partners to improve maritime safety and incident response.