Mats Saether has been appointed managing director of Nordisk Defence Club, a Norwegian law firm that specialises in mutual freight, demurrage and defence claims.
Saether has worked at Nordisk for eight years and will start in the top job on 6 April.
"As my predecessors since 1889, I will split my time between working as a shipping lawyer and managing Nordisk, heading up our stellar team of professionals," he said of his new appointment on LinkedIn.
Saether previously spent 10 years at Norwegian law firms BAHR and Wikborg Rein.
His practice covers all areas of maritime law, including dispute resolution, charter contracts, compliance, shipbuilding and ship-recycling contracts and ship-finance transactions.
Saether also teaches maritime law at the University of Oslo and has acted before the Norwegian Supreme Court.
"At Nordisk, I am part of an excellent team of maritime law professionals, and I love going to work every day," he said.
The firm employs 20 lawyers — 17 in Oslo and three in Singapore. It plans to recruit more in Singapore.
Teenage dream
But before kicking off his legal career, Saether was hailed as a "shipping prodigy" in the pages of TradeWinds — at the age of 14.
He was featured as a teenager in one of our early editions in January 1991.
"Tanker and bulker owners Norman International, having learned about my strong interest in shipping, offered me a part-time job after school," Saether said in a LinkedIn post last year.
The youngster was tasked with updating archive systems for all of the company's operated vessels.
"Shipping is the most exciting occupation I can think of," he told TradeWinds 30 years ago.
The formative experience has also shaped how Saether works with would-be shipping professionals today.
"Today, I am paying it forward by teaching maritime law at the university as part of my work at Nordisk Defence Club and also by actively helping shipping and maritime law students find their future place in this exciting and always interesting industry," he said in his LinkedIn post.
