SJ Interview: Jonathan Moss

Q: You’ve built a career at the intersection of shipping, trade, and insurance. What initially drew you to these sectors, and how have they evolved since you began practising?

Jonathan Moss: After I finished school at 17, I was keen to develop my language skills and went to university in Nancy, France becoming fluent in French. I then moved back to the UK and studied for a degree in History and French at the University of Manchester before obtaining a law degree at Queen Mary University of London.  While training to be a solicitor, I studied for a Master's, writing a dissertation on French and English cross border disputes 

When I came to qualify, insurance law firms were looking for French speakers so that they could expand into the French insurance market and consolidate relationships with French insurers and reinsurers. I qualified at a City Insurance Law firm with offices in London and Paris, spending about three months each year in Paris for six years, primarily engaged in advising clients in the French insurance and reinsurance market.

So, it wasn’t a concerted intention to work in insurance. I don’t think many students wake up in the morning and say, “I want to be an insurance lawyer”, but that’s how I entered the world of insurance and reinsurance.

I was also drawn by the impact and bearing that insurance has on the UK economy. There are approximately 60,000 people employed in the insurance industry in the UK. Insurance accounts for about 2.5 per cent of UK GDP. The London insurance market is global, and 70% of its business is from overseas clients based in North America, Southeast Asia, and many other regions. Insurance has always been crucial to the UK’s economic strength and to global trade. I was attracted by the international dimension, its traditions and its focus on personal connections. The specialty insurance market values close working relationships with individuals.

Q: You must have seen significant changes in the industry over the course of your career.

Jonathan Moss: Absolutely. Lloyd’s of London dates back to the 17th century, and until the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the market had a distinctive structure with private individuals providing capital to underwrite insurance. Whilst many of the principles remain the same, including the importance of licensed Lloyd's brokers bringing business to Underwriters, much has changed over the last 20 to 30 years. Electronic documentation and digital processes have transformed how insurance transactions are carried out.

Regulation has evolved constantly, and technology has taken a far more prominent role with the move from a paper-based market, characterised by unlimited liability for those investing, to a modern market driven by innovation, more disciplined underwriting, global expansion and digital expertise.

Q: As Managing Partner of DWF’s London office, how do you balance strategic leadership with maintaining an active client practice?

Jonathan Moss: I think the two go hand in hand. I’ve always wanted to maintain an active client practice alongside my role as the London office Managing Partner. It’s important to be in tune with clients and to continue to practise while having such role. This allows you to understand better the day to day challenges faced by partners and colleagues, whether in contentious or non-contentious work, and to stay close to what clients need.

Strategic leadership and client practice are two sides of the same coin. Of course, there’s a balance, you deal with management issues as they arise and set aside time for client matters. No day is ever the same.

At DWF London, for example, we’ve just completed a significant office refurbishment that’s been ongoing for six or seven months. We now have approximately 550 people in the London office, and we’ve introduced a formal desk-booking system to meet the needs of hybrid working. The focus is on flexibility, innovation, and creating a modern environment where people can work effectively and feel engaged.

Q: Turning to your sector work, what would you say are the most significant legal risks currently facing the shipping and transport industries amid global supply chain disruption and geopolitical tension?

Jonathan Moss: When I think of legal risks, I tend to view them through the lens of global risks that impact international trade and transportation. Many of them fall under the headings of geopolitics and climate change, where decarbonisation, electrification and environmental factors have an increasing bearing on the transportation of goods and logistics in general.

In the last ten years, for example, we’ve seen severe droughts affecting the Panama Canal, port closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, and large incidents such as the MV Dali collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Covid caused enormous disruption. Ten of the world’s largest container ports are in China, and many of them closed at different times which led to major supply-chain issues.

In the past few years, we have seen natural catastrophes, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, and of course, conflicts like the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East. Each of these brings new compliance burdens, from sanctions to increased regulation. Together, they all heighten the complexity and risk landscape for clients in transport and trade.

These events are uncertain and often unforeseen. That’s where marine insurance comes in; it enables global trade to continue despite risk. Events like the Houthis campaign of attacking vessels, and the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal were not anticipated. Each of those events generated an array of legal and commercial challenges.

Q: Can you elaborate on how conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and instability in the Red Sea reshaped marine insurance law and contractual risk allocation?

Jonathan Moss: Starting with the Red Sea and Houthi attacks, we are seeing additional costs feeding through the supply chain, from higher fuel costs to longer transit times. If vessels can’t pass through the Suez Canal safely, they must reroute, which increases journey lengths, costs, and delays. Traffic through the Suez Canal dropped by up to 60% in 2024 due to Houthi attacks. Major carriers rerouted vessels around the Cape of Good Hope adding 10 to 14 days transit times between Asia and Europe.

In the London insurance market, we’ve seen a rise in premiums for war-risk cover and higher premiums for insurance lines covering ships navigating those waters. There’s also greater exposure to piracy and other threats. All this creates friction, uncertainty, and higher insurance costs that flow through to the end consumer.

As for Ukraine, the 2022 invasion triggered waves of sanctions across the UK, EU, and US. Those sanctions restrict trade with certain countries and entities, block access to banking and finance, and limit the export or import of sensitive materials, particularly in high-tech sectors. Together, the Ukraine conflict and instability in the Middle East have raised compliance costs, tightened regulations, and increased the demand for legal advice in these areas.

Q: Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) obligations are transforming global trade. How are shipowners, traders, and insurers adapting to the legal challenges of decarbonisation?

Jonathan Moss: ESG related obligations are having a huge impact on traders, insurers, and the shipping industry as a whole. We’re seeing more claims connected to environmental and weather-related issues than ever before, business-interruption claims from storm and tornado damage in the US, for example, and cargo claims resulting from severe weather disrupting supply chains.

There are also claims tied to corporate governance and ESG compliance. The ClientEarth lawsuit against Shell is a notable example, it targeted directors personally for not adhering to ESG strategies. We’re also seeing professional indemnity claims against architects and engineers linked to environmental design obligations.

And then there’s greenwashing. Companies that overstate their ESG credentials are facing scrutiny and even litigation. Shipowners, too, are under pressure to decarbonise their fleets. The challenge is cost; adapting vessels to meet emissions regulations requires significant investment, so shipowners must weigh regulatory compliance against commercial viability.

Large commodities traders are focusing on LNG and LPG, and alternative energy sources. Everyone in the sector is aware of the need to transition, but the speed and cost of that transition remain major challenges.

Q: How is technology affecting maritime contracts and disputes?

Jonathan Moss: Technology is transforming the sector in many ways. Blockchain, for example, has real potential to improve the tracking of containers and cargoes worldwide. We’re also seeing discussions about electronic bills of lading and other digital documentation to replace the traditional paper-based contracts used in shipping.

Bills of lading are physical documents serving as a receipt of goods exchanged on delivery of goods. Now, research centres and think tanks are working on frameworks to make electronic documents legally binding and reliable.

There are also developments around electrification of road transport and the use of drones. Even something as simple as e-ticketing has become ubiquitous. I remember giving a talk in Liverpool at the International Festival of Business several years ago and holding up a paper ticket, predicting that within five or six years, tickets would be entirely digital and stored on phones. At the time, the audience seemed doubtful, but now it’s the norm.

Q: When managing complex cross-border disputes, how do you ensure legal strategy aligns with the commercial objectives of international clients?

Jonathan Moss: DWF's international expansion has always been client-led. We have followed our clients into regions where they need support, or we have identified markets where our expertise matches growing demand.

If a major client says, “You should open in a particular territory,” that request needs to be taken seriously and evaluated so that their legal needs can be serviced. Likewise, we look at regions with strong potential in certain sectors and expand accordingly. That ensures our legal strategy aligns with our clients’ commercial priorities, we’re growing where they need us most.

Q: DWF operates as a multidisciplinary legal business with global reach. How does that model enhance your ability to serve clients in the transport and insurance sectors?

Jonathan Moss: The multidisciplinary model is one of DWF’s great strengths. We offer an integrated service that covers every aspect of a client’s needs.

We have in-house advocates through our own advocacy unit, who conduct hearings and trials on insurance and transport matters. We also have DWF Claims, our third-party administrator (TPA), which manages claims on behalf of large insurers, often acting as the first point of contact. They determine when to instruct lawyers within DWF, ensuring clients get the right expertise.

Our structure also includes dedicated costs teams for litigation, as well as in-house surveyors, and forensic accountants. These multidisciplinary capabilities mean we can handle many of a client's concerns internally if needed, providing efficiency, consistency, and quality control across every stage of a claim.

Q: You’ve also been involved in academia as a visiting lecturer at Queen Mary University. Do you see a gap between academia and practice, and if so, how can it be bridged?

Jonathan Moss: Academia provides the essential foundation for a career in law. Theoretical disciplines like contract, tort, and public international law are fundamental to a practising lawyer's knowledge. But there’s sometimes a gap between academic study and the practical realities of advising clients, anticipating their commercial needs, and achieving good outcomes in litigation, for example.

At Queen Mary University of London's Centre for Commercial Law Studies, where I have been a member of the Insurance Institute and guest lecturer for over 10 years, they do a good job of bridging that gap. The postgraduate programme often invites practitioners to lecture on real-world issues, with presentations from those working within P&I Clubs or handling marine claims for London market insurers. That exposure helps students understand how theory applies in practice.

Ultimately, institutions should do more to make that transition smoother. Academic learning and practical experience both matter. Knowing the law deeply is valuable, but so is understanding how to communicate it effectively to clients.

Q: Looking ahead, what emerging trends or risks do you expect will most influence the development of transport and maritime law over the next decade?

Jonathan Moss: I think the proliferation of international sanctions will be a defining feature. Sanctions are now used as economic tools used to influence the behaviour of governments, organisations and individuals and their reach continues to grow. 

Sanctions will increasingly shape how those involved in insurance and transportation operate. Alongside that, the influence of AI and the move to electronic documentation will change how contracts are executed and disputes resolved.

And of course, factors like wider global instability, climate change, war and political disruption, will lead to a more contentious claims environment. We can expect more disputes, both primary and ancillary, as a result of these pressures.

Q: Finally, what advice would you give to young or aspiring lawyers entering the profession today?

Jonathan Moss: I’d say: keep an open mind, be innovative, and embrace change. The legal profession will look very different in ten years’ time.

AI will influence how advice is provided, and we’ll see more hybrid legal-consultancy models emerging. The conservative image often associated with lawyers may evolve into something far more dynamic.

So, be flexible, be entrepreneurial, and stay curious. Those who adapt will thrive and have a varied and rewarding career.