William MacLachlan

About William

William is a senior partner in HFW’s transactional shipping team.  He advises a wide variety of companies, financial institutions and public bodies on a range of transactional and regulatory matters.  He is an expert in the sale and purchase of second-hand vessels, ship design, ship building, refit and repair and conversion and ship management and more broadly advises on the full range of non-contentious matters. He works closely with the firm’s leading ship finance lawyers on a range of matters and projects. 

William is co-head of the firm’s cruise and ferry practice, acting for a range of cruise lines and ferry operators including, large international ferry operations and small domestic lifeline services as well as sovereign and local governments, banks and alternative investors, service providers and insurers. 

William is head of HFW’s ship building practice, acting for ship yards, ship owners and other stakeholders in a range of complex commercial shipping, cruise, ferry, offshore and yacht related newbuild projects and refit, repair and conversion contracts. 

William is also HFW’s leading specialist on ship recycling and the complex web of international regulation applicable to it.  In addition, William is experienced in matters of physical and cyber security and advises ship owners, private security companies and other industry stakeholders on the contractual, regulatory and compliance issues associated with such matters.

William speaks regularly at conferences and contributes to a range of printed media. William is actively involved in a number of HFW’s ESG initiatives and spent 9 years as a trustee of the Mission to Seafarers, one of HFW’s global charity partners.  William is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales.