Wikborg Rein who have 185 lawyers, of which 58 are partners, has hired three UK partners to its London branch to become the first Norwegian firm to offer English law advice in the City.  Wikborg Rein began in 1923 when the 28 year old Erling Wikborg established a one man office in downtown Oslo. His first clients were in the maritime law and marine insurance business, and these remained the firm’s main areas of practice through the 1960s and 1970s.

Wikborg, which opened in London in 1987, has recruited Simon Tatham; who’s main area of practice lies within the shipping and offshore fields, Clare Calnan; a lawyer with a broad range of marine and offshore experience specialising in dispute resolution, mediation, commercial litigation and arbitration, and Rob Jardine-Brown; who written various articles on shipping matters including contract administration, superyacht construction and the effectiveness of liquidated damages clauses, to launch the English law team. All three join the Oslo-based firm from specialist shipping practices.

Simon Tatham moved to Wikborg from Bentleys Stokes and Lowless where he had been a partner since 2003. Prior to this he was a partner in Stephenson Harwood and Sinclair Roche & Temperley. Clare Calnan and Rob Jardine-Brown have both moved from Curtis Davis Garrard.

Wikborg does already offer English law advice from its Singapore office through partner Stephen Fordham specializing in asset and project finance, and foreign direct investment. Even so, the three-partner team is a significant step for a Nordic firm in the London market.