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Aviation Law and Finance

Our Aviation Law and Finance Team services the spectrum of needs of aviation-based businesses and the companies that serve them. Its team members are experienced in a range of areas from creditor's rights and lender representation to corporate structuring and litigation. Whether large or small, directly involved in aviation or supporting those who are, the Aviation Law and Finance Team is poised to provide the guidance and legal support you need.

Who We Are

An industry-focused group, the Aviation Law and Finance Team is drawn from a variety of practice areas within the firm, both transaction and litigation attorneys. We are focused on serving the entire aviation community. We represent many sectors of aviation, including:

  • Air Carriers
  • Aircraft Brokers
  • Airports
  • Aviation Mechanics and Repair Facilities
  • Fixed Base Operators
  • Lenders/Creditors of Aviation Assets
  • Private and Commercial Pilots
  • Repossession Agents

Serving clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic area, the Aviation Law and Finance team represents lenders who finance aviation purchases, both in making sure the assets are properly secured and fighting to free assets that are subject to liens, possessory claims or bankruptcies. We advise clients on ownership structuring and operation of corporate aircraft. We also represent clients in federal and state courts and administrative proceedings before the National Transportation Safety Board.

What We Do

From advice on regulatory compliance to securing loans on aviation assets to negotiations of aircraft lien releases to litigation, the Aviation Law and Finance Team stands ready to guide its aviation industry clients through one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country.

Making sure that aviation assets are properly secured on the front end is the best way to prevent problems upon default. We work with a variety of lenders to ensure liens are properly filed. If a default occurs, we work with the lenders to get the borrower back on track or, if necessary to repossess the aircraft. Oftentimes, this involves negotiation or litigation with other lienholders, or a lawsuit for possession.

In one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country, we also counsel clients with regard to compliance with regulations such as the Airport Improvement Program, Pilot Fatigue Rules and Incident/Accident reporting, as well as international air treaties such as the Warsaw Convention, Hague Protocol and Cape Town Convention. We represent clients in Federal Aviation Administration investigations or enforcement actions.

Our Track Record

Our lawyers have represented clients in the following types of aviation matters:

  • Outside general counsel to an airline
  • General counsel and outside counsel to regional airports
  • Represent airports in inverse condemnation litigation related to expansion
  • Represent lenders and creditors in registering security interests with Federal Aviation Administration and International Registry
  • Represent lenders and creditors in clearing aircraft liens
  • Represent corporate flight departments in acquiring and divesting aviation assets
  • Represent pilots, mechanics and aviation business before the National Transportation Safety Board and on appeal to the U.S. Courts of Appeal.

press and publication

  • Presented "Filing and Fighting Aircraft Liens" to Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, 2012
  • Presented on trial of inverse condemnation case Osipov v. Chesapeake Airport to Virginia Airport Operators Council, 2012
  • Presented to Aviation Directors Rountable, 2010

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