Our Background
Fernando Meana Green opened Fernando Meana Green & Co. in 1961, the first maritime law firm in Spain, after having worked for two years at Holman Fenwick & Willan in London .
Fernando Meana Green & Co. began life as a small firm in Bilbao but has grown organically, and the firm now boasts offices in Madrid and Cadiz . In 1976, Pedro Maura joined the firm and became partner in 1978. In 1982, both partners decided to move the centre of operations from Bilbao to Madrid to offer a more efficient and comprehensive service to both national and international clients. From our geographical position in Madrid our emergency response team successfully covers all Spanish ports. In 2005, the company changed names and is now known as Meana Green Maura & Co.
The firm is well known for its intervention in the “PRESTIGE” and “AEGEAN SEA” cases, and has always been involved in all types of dry and wet maritime matters, inter alia, carriage of goods by sea, charterparties, collisions, general average, salvage, administrative files. This type of work forms the backbone of this practice. The lawyers in the firm have wide experience, and are specialists in these areas. Meana Green Maura & Co. also ventured into new fields of practice, making its mark in land transportation and aviation, as well as in general commercial law.
Since the end of the 1960s, the firm has given advice to many manning agents enabling it to specialise in personal injury and labour law. Meana Green Maura & Co. has a long tradition of resolving personal injury and labour claims, like, for example, the sinking of the M/V “ZAFIR” after the collision with the “ESPRESSO DE CATANIA” near the Italian coast.
The firm is a leader in the area of administrative sanction proceedings, in particular, those arising out of stowaways, spills and other breaches of marine safety and port regulations.
In pollution cases, Meana Green Maura & Co. has provided comprehensive advice in ground breaking cases such as the “ERKOVITCH” and the “CASON” and more recently the “AEGEAN SEA” and “PRESTIGE”.
The firm has a reputation for taking on unprecedented cases, never failing to satisfy the expectations of its clients. One such case was the salvage of a harrier jet that landed on the merchant navy vessel “ALRAIGO”. Another example is the tragic collision and subsequent explosion of the “PETROGEN ONE” and “CAMPONAVIA”, in the port of Algeciras where 36 crewmembers died, and severe damages were caused to the port of Algeciras.
The firm has a high media profile, regularly participating in cases of public interest such as incidents with the cruise vessels “LOUIS MAJESTY”, “FUNCHAL” and “COSTA CONCORDIA” which involved personal injury and death of passengers, as well as recently intervening on behalf of several hijacked crewmembers before the penal court in the piracy case “ALAKRANA” and participating in the suspected heritage looting case “FRIESLAND”.