Holland & Knight has appointed Jeffrey Wool as its director of international law and policy. The appointment is effective on January 1, 2021.
Wool serves as the secretary general of the Aviation Working Group (AWG), the not-for-profit international industry group that works on the development of policies, regulations and rules designed to facilitate advanced international aviation financing and leasing. Wool will continue in this role for AWG on secondment from Holland & Knight, which will serve as AWG’s international counsel.
“AWG has had an exceptionally close relationship with H&K for over 25 years, and has turned to that firm for support on some of its most important and complex work over that period,” says Wool. “That includes, most recently, fundamental tasks relating to the interpretation of, and compliance with, the Cape Town Convention and formulation and advocacy of principles relating to airline restructurings in the COVID-19 context.”
Wool is also a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford's Harris Manchester College and an affiliate member of the university's law faculty. He has previously been professor of global business law at the University of Washington, where he was founding co-director of its global business law institute and led in the development of courses on transnational commercial law, comparative commercial law and international business compliance.
"Jeffrey's deep knowledge of international law and policy, especially with respect to aviation financing and leasing, is unrivaled. He has been widely recognized as the principal thought leader in this space for many years," said Phillip Durham, the leader of Holland & Knight's Asset Finance Group.
"We are excited about having Jeffrey in this important role at the firm and supporting AWG at this pivotal time for the aviation financing sector as it deals with the range of issues related to the pandemic," adds Steven Sonberg, the managing partner of Holland & Knight.
Wool adds: “H&K brings to bear the depth and breadth needed to aid AWG, across its full range of topics, in the critical year and years ahead, as the aviation finance and leasing industry recovers from the effects of the pandemic.”