Janet Fallon

"All three personality types say that I am organised - which is very true! I like to be efficient and deliver a good service to both external and internal clients. I enjoy mentoring the younger individuals in the office and would never ask them to do anything for me which I wasn't prepared to do myself. I like to explain why a particular task needs to be carried out and try to make my explanations as clear as possible. In particular if I am delivering a workshop or some training I always tell people that there is no such thing as a stupid question and there is a very good chance that someone else is probably plucking up the courage to ask the same question.I am not \"precious\" about sharing my experience, contacts, knowledge and believe that we need to encourage younger people into the marine industry which has an increasingly aging workforce. "

"As I work in the insurance industry a lot of time is also spent negotiating renewals with underwriters on behalf of clients and trying to get the best coverage/price for their coverage taking into account the nature of the client's operations, claims record and the current climate in the marine insurance market. It is always hoped that the main outcome of my work is a happy client!The thing I most enjoy about my job is travelling to meet the clients - particularly those based in Canada and Argentina. It is always good to see the operations in action as it gives everything perspective and helps with understanding the risks and then delivering good information to underwriters so that they can give the client the best deal. It is also good to get to know the clients personally as this helps you understand some of the challenges that they fact in their day to day working lives."

"After my A levels I chose to travel and became a holiday rep working in the south of France, the Canary Islands, Greek Islands, French Alps, Austrian Alps and Tunisia. I stayed overseas for 5 years and then came home to seek my fortune using my languages working in London! I started my career in the Marine Insurance industry in London & as I was working with 2 lawyers, decided that I would like to do a law degree. I did this part time at night school whilst working full time as an underwriter insuring ports and terminals.I completed my Solicitor's finals & training contract at Hill Dickinson in Liverpool. I qualified as a solicitor in the marine department of Hill Dickinson. A couple of years later I successfully got the job as in-house counsel at the Port of Liverpool. This role was very varied & gave me experience in the challenges faced in the port industry. After 5 years at the Port of Liverpool I was head hunted by Weightmans & went back into private practice to set up their marine department. I moved further north again to Cumbria where I established a holiday cottage business. I was head hunted by James Fisher & Sons plc - a shipping and marine services company to be their Insurance and Risk Manager. My role there was to liaise with the marine superintendents in respect of the vessels & the wide-ranging number of subsidiary companies which ranged from offshore equipment hire companies, rescue submarine, nuclear industry companies to fender manufacturing & ship to ship transfer companies. I liaised with both marine & non-marine brokers/underwriters in order to explain what each of the companies did and negotiate the best deals for insurance premium. I was engaged by JLT as a consultant before becoming a full time employee (mainly working from home in Cumbria) to find myself doing a full circle & working back with former colleagues in the city of London in the marine insurance industry & working with clients I worked with when I was an underwriter."

"My hobbies include skydiving, choral singing, Argentine Tango , swimming, walking, yoga and pilates. I have done around 1500 freefall skydives and love an adventure!"

"Inevitably there is a lot of time spent at the computer answering emails. Queries can range from mundane administrative/accounting issues to more challenging contractual/operational issues raised by clients which need to be reviewed from a legal liability perspective and in particular to ensure that their marine insurance cover is not prejudiced in any way. I also liaise with colleagues in other offices in relation to the development of new business - particularly in respect of UK ports and terminal operators. My experience in the industry spans 30 years and I did chair the Board of a local authority port in the UK for 13 years."

"LLB (Hons) 2:1, Solicitor"