How to find a Lawyer
If you are a seafarer or member of a seafarer’s family and are seeking legal advice, there are two types of lawyer that can help:
- If you are claiming for personal injury/death whilst working, in the place where the personal injury/death occurred; and/or one of the ports visited by the ship; and/or the country where the employing company has its registered offices or its actual place of business, you will need to engage with a Personal Injury Lawyer
- If you are claiming for a marine casualty or incident in the port where the marine casualty or incident took place; and/or the first port the ship berths at after a marine casualty or incident, you will need to engage the services of a Maritime Lawyer (with expertise in seafarers’ claims)
Seafarers can find lawyers through the following:
- Listed on the website of Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI). Here you will find a list of lawyers/law firms who have subscribed to a Charter of Good Practice for the Provision of Legal Services to Seafarers
- Listed in international guides and directories where specialist lawyers are set out and rated. Examples of these websites are www.legal500.com and www.chambersandpartners.com (websites in English)
- Listed on the membership bodies or regulatory bodies of the legal profession in specific countries. However often these websites will be in a foreign language
- Recommendations from friends or members of the family
- Recommendations from local trade unions or welfare organisations
- Recommendations from the local consulate
You can find more guidance on how to find and engage with the right lawyers in our free Fact File and Legal Guides, which can be downloaded on this website.