Weightmans - News Update

Mike Burns is a partner in the marine and transit team at Liverpool law firm Weightmans. Mike, 42, lives in Heswall with his wife, Fiona, and their three sons

6.45am: The alarm coincides with “Showtime” on Radio 2. A certain song from Carousel is too rude an awakening for my “blue” blood and I jump straight in the shower.

7.30am: Dressed and the last downstairs. Our three boys are breakfasting, with Fiona acting as peacemaker over the orange juice and cereal. I’m off to a breakfast meeting and so forego the usual self-service. The mania is building. Tom, seven, reminds me I owe him pocket money. Ed, nine, says he wants a drum kit for his birthday. James, 11, asks if he can give up guitar lessons. I’d best get in the car.

8am: Arrive at Mersey Maritime in Birkenhead. The monthly “face-to- face” meetings always attract a good turnout from marine companies. With bacon rolls consumed, chief executive Jim Teasdale updates us on recent initiatives and successes. Iain Robertson, from Peel Ports, talks about progress in the development of Liverpool as a “super-port”. News that work on the Seaforth deep sea terminal will start in 2011 is well received.

9.30am: In the office. Weightmans occupies the ground floor of India Buildings, built in the 1920s for Blue Funnel Line, and it feels appropriate to be giving shipping law advice from here. Much of the marine legal work we do has an international flavour. Overnight I have an email from an American attorney relating to the sinking of a yacht off Florida. Some arbitration submissions have arrived from a Hong Kong charterer which I quickly review. I return a few phone calls and send a few routine emails.

10.30am: Catch up with one of my marine partners, Terry Donaghy, who’s just returned from St Petersburg on a case. The trip was productive, if a little chilly.

11am: There is a buzz of activity outside my office. The Claire House cake sale is about to begin, and I invest in a large brownie to accompany my coffee. CSR and charitable fund raising are a big part of life at Weightmans. I enjoy the brownie while I look at a ship management contract a client has sent me for urgent comments, trying not to allow crumbs to obscure the important clauses.

Noon: My colleague, Emma, comes into my room to discuss a few cases we are working on together. High on the agenda is a high-value warehouse burglary our client is defending. Another client has an issue with a number of cargo containers detained in a Far Eastern port.

1pm: We have our weekly partners’ meeting. After playing “guess what’s in the sandwich?”, I lead a discussion about opportunities the Liverpool Boat Show 2011 may present for the firm. It promises to be an exciting international event for the city.

2.30pm: I have a short meeting across town with a client to discuss a cargo contamination claim. We have a telephone conference with the cargo insurance company in the USA at the start of their day.

3.15pm: Back at the office. I need to book a golf day for the Liverpool Underwriters and Maritime Association, of which I’m golf secretary. My trusty AA golf guide is wedged between the law reports on my desk, and is showing considerably more signs of use. After a few calls, I manage to get something fixed up for early June. 4pm: I take a call from a London insurance company on a new dispute in relation to a ship damage claim. They will email me the paperwork and ask if we could provide some urgent advice.

5pm: A marine insurance client has travelled from London to discuss a claim before we interview a witness tomorrow. It’s been some years since he was in Liverpool and I show him around Liverpool One. We have an early supper in Chaophraya – I go for the red curry and a Singha beer.

8pm: Home. The kids are still buzzing around. Ed wants to know if I’ve thought about the drum kit. I hand Fiona a large glass of wine: it looks like she needs it.

10.45pm: After some television, and getting to champion level on Wii table tennis, it’s time for bed. I make a mental note to go for a morning jog.