Dr. Jennifer Lavelle

Full Profile

Jennifer joined Clyde & Co in 2014. She is a Marine Claims and Policy Specialist in the Marine and International Trade team.

Jennifer is regularly instructed to provide coverage advice in high value marine insurance and reinsurance disputes, with a particular focus on cargo transit and stock throughput policies.  Jennifer also advises on non-marine policies, including fine art & specie, property damage and business interruption policies.    

Jennifer also handles recovery claims arising out of charterparties, bills of lading, marine casualties, general average and salvage. Jennifer has significant experience in all aspects of recoveries, having been heavily involved in the issues arising out of major casualties such as the "MOL COMFORT" and "MAERSK HONAM".

Jennifer has a broad maritime background and an innate interest in marine. She has a Ph.D. in commercial law and a Masters in maritime law.  She researched and taught various commercial and maritime law subjects at the University of Southampton before joining Clyde & Co., contributing to Merkin, Marine Insurance Legislation (5th edition) and Clarke (ed.), Maritime Law Evolving. Jennifer also spent two years at UNCTAD in Geneva, where she published numerous reports on the international legal regimes for countering piracy and for providing compensation for ship-source oil pollution. 

Experience

Marine

• Advising multiple cargo insurers on the total loss of USD 100m of cargo after "MOL COMFORT" broke in two, caught fire and sank, losing all 4,382 containers on board. This is the largest container vessel ever to be lost
• "MAERSK HONAM" - defending claims in salvage and pursuing recovery against multiple parties
• Advising insurers and their assured following allision of a vessel with the insured Terminal resulting in losses in excess of USD20m
• Defending various claims for GA contributions in circumstances where the vessel was unseaworthy and/or where owners had failed to exercise due diligence to make the vessels seaworthy
• Successfully acting for sellers in an ad-hoc arbitration in Singapore against buyers who failed to pay for goods under a contract of sale, where funds had allegedly been diverted by a fraudulent third party in a cyber attack
• Acting for cargo insurers/assureds in various LMAA arbitrations and in litigation before the English High Court, as well as co-ordinating litigation in a wide range of other jurisdictions

Insurance & Reinsurance

• Advising insurers on coverage under a Shipseize policy following quarantine of a vessel in response to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Advising owners of a cargo of crude oil in respect of coverage under an all-risks policy following a fire and explosion on the carrying vessel
• Advising cargo insurers on coverage and title to sue issues in relation to liability for a substantial claim under a stock throughput policy for alleged misappropriation and theft of cargo 
• Advising insurers subscribing to a Terminal Operators Package Reinsurance policy in respect of liability for alleged property damage and business interruption losses
• Advising a major global reinsurer in respect of alleged shortage and contamination of a bulk cargo of copper concentrate with an insured value in excess of USD11m