Alec Emmerson moved into the shipping and insurance legal sector on joining Clyde & Co in 1977, having previously spent five years with another City law firm handling corporate insolvencies. Both these specialties were put to good use when he managed the Hong Kong office from 1984 onwards. This heralded an era of major shipping insolvencies, the Carrian fraud and insolvency (on which Alec worked for nine years) as well as a host of major marine casualties and the infamous "phantom ship" frauds.
Alec also handled numerous arbitrations (including sitting occasionally as an Arbitrator), investment dispute, disaster, commercial contract and employment litigation, and was well-known in most areas of insurance dispute resolution including CAR, jewellers block, Bankers Blanket Bond, credit and political risk, property and business interruption, e&o, marine and aviation.
He returned to London in 1996, continuing to practice in the same areas and moved to the Dubai office in 1999 as head of the Dispute Resolution Group, where he continues to practice in the same areas. He retired early as a partner in mid 2008 to work part time for the firm and spend more time sitting as an arbitrator and mediator. He is Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a CEDR accredited mediator.
Alec was listed as a leading individual in the 2009 Global Arbitration Review. The firm was ranked 11 out of the top 100 global arbitration practices. Chambers Global Rankings 2010 said "Alec Emmerson sets the bar high for the rest of the lawyers in this field. He is widely respected as an advocate and an arbitrator, and is one of the most "switched-on, pragmatic and effective" lawyers in the region."