BAHR + BERGEN

BAHR opened its Bergen office in October. This gives us a targeted presence, from which we will provide first-rate legal and strategic assistance to businesses and organisations in the Bergen region and Western Norway.

The Bergen office is a fully integrated part of BAHR, although with a special focus on shipping, fisheries and aquaculture, along with finance and asset management, as well as real estate. A physical presence in the capital of Western Norway brings us close to relevant industry clusters, educational and research institutions, as well as government bodies, in the Bergen region and Western Norway.

Our Bergen office team includes Lisa Marie Opdahl, Partner, and Øystein Meland, Specialist Partner. Lisa Marie Opdahl joined BAHR in 2011, where she has had a special focus on shipping, offshore and aquaculture. She heads BAHR’s newly-established OCEAN group along with our shipping partners Geir Gustavsson and Anne Dahl Frisak.

Øystein Meland is Bergen’s leading shipping lawyer and altogether one of Bergen’s most experienced business lawyers. Meland brings unique knowledge and experience to the OCEAN group, of particular relevance to maritime and marine industries operating

Partner Lisa Marie Opdahl, Specialist Partner Øystein Meland and Partner and Head of the OCEAN group, Geir Gustavsson, joining up in front of the camera in Bergen. Photo: Morten Wanvik

out of the West Coast of Norway. Meland will also serve as a mentor and role model for his younger colleagues at the Bergen office. Meland is admitted to the Norwegian Supreme Court and is certified as both an international arbitrator and mediator. He drafted and negotiated the Norwegian Standard Shipbuilding Contract ("Ship 2000") and has authored a comprehensive commentary on shipbuilding contracts based on the Norwegian Standard. Meland is also a highly valued speaker/lecturer at international maritime conferences.

The ocean industries are key pillars of BAHR’s practice. Advising shipping clients has been a priority ever since the firm was founded in 1966. The OCEAN group now strengthens BAHR’s focus on all ocean industries, including shipping, aquaculture and fisheries. Our new Bergen office brings us closer to clients operating from the West Coast of Norway.