Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) announces that after over 35 years at the firm, Senior Advisor and former Chairman Nigel Thomas is retiring at the end of November.
Nigel joined the firm in 1987 after five years working as an investment banker at Lazard and since then he has played an instrumental role in helping WFW grow into a truly international sector specialist law firm with the largest dedicated maritime legal practice in the world. In 1988, only a year after joining the firm, he moved to Norway to head up WFW’s then Oslo office before relocating to Singapore in 1998 to open the firm’s first Asian office. Following his return from Asia, Nigel was head of the London Asset Finance team and Global Maritime Sector for several years, consolidating his reputation as one of London’s leading maritime lawyers, before serving as WFW Chairman from 2017 to 2022.
His maritime expertise, especially regarding ship finance, is second to none and has seen him recognised over the years in leading legal directories Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. In 2022 Chambers UK promoted him to ‘Eminent Practitioner’ for Asset Finance: Shipping Finance UK-wide, an accolade granted to only a select few. Deservedly so as Nigel has worked on countless important and high-profile maritime transactions over the years, a notable recent example being advising Nordea on the US$1.5bn Prosafe restructuring in 2021. Perhaps, though, one of his most impactful and enduring legacies within the maritime space was his key role in helping develop and launch the Poseidon Principles, an industry-led global framework for assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of financial institutions’ shipping portfolios to support the IMO’s goal to reduce shipping’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050.
Nigel is admired by his colleagues, not only for his commitment to WFW and legal acumen but, above all, for his genuine warmth and kindness; always taking time to get to know colleagues, clients and staff on a personal level and making an effort to nurture junior colleagues and develop their careers. This generosity extends to his fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace by sponsoring and championing various initiatives over the years including the firm’s alumni programme.
Senior Partner George Paleokrassas commented: “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Nigel over the years and he will be greatly missed by everyone who has had the privilege of knowing him. His contributions to the success of the firm cannot be understated, having helped us grow into the international success that we are today from almost the beginning of the firm’s existence. I am particularly grateful for the way he supported and championed myself and Lindsey Keeble when we transitioned into our new roles as Senior Partner and Managing Partner respectively – reinforcing the consensus that he truly was a real advocate for the best interests of the firm and our people. His charisma, humour and encyclopaedic legal knowledge will be sorely missed but we wish him all the best in what is a truly well-earned retirement”.
