Areas of expertise
• Admiralty and maritime litigation
• Marine insurance and shipping casualty work
• General maritime and commercial litigation
• Carriage of goods by land and sea
• Insurance litigation
Career
Gavin has been managing partner of the firm’s Cape Town office since 2014 and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Gavin has been involved in major maritime litigation resulting from disasters and casualties since 1992, including all aspects of casualty investigations, dealing with access to crew, vessels and documents, taking evidence on commission, subsequent trial and arbitration work, and in courts of marine enquiry. He also has extensive experience in all aspects of arrest work, having represented parties in relation to enforcement proceedings, obtaining of security, and both effecting and setting aside complex associated ship arrests. He has considerable experience in all port related work, and also in dealing with P&I Club matters, whether for owners or charterers. During his career, he has been involved in precedent-setting legal decisions and numerous judgments. He also has expertise in mortgage foreclosures, judicial ship sales, and related commercial work, as well as in marine and transport insurance and related cargo claims. He deals with loss of life and personal injuries matters in the marine context. He has experience in ship repair matters, including related arbitration work. Gavin served as the president of the Maritime Law Association of South Africa (MLASA) from August 2018 to August 2020. He chaired the Cape Chapter of the MLA from 2007 to 2017. He is an external examiner for the University of Cape Town’s Admiralty Law Department. Gavin is also the managing partner of the firm’s Cape Town office. His expertise has been recognised by international research organisations including Chambers Global, Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and Best Lawyers. Gavin has a Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Law, LLB and BA degrees from the University of Cape Town.