Global law firm K&L Gates has added aviation lawyer Misha Kovacevic as a counsel in its Seattle office. Kovacevic joins K&L Gates from the Chicago office of Vedder Price.
Fluent in German and Serbian/Croatian, Kovacevic has more than a decade of international experience in the aircraft leasing and asset finance areas. Among the matters he has handled for major aviation and finance clients have been the subleasing of the entire AirTran Boeing 717 fleet to Delta; the negotiation of Alafco’s first U.S. market leases of A320 aircraft to Allegiant Air; the drafting and structuring of a novel Korean aviation investment fund; and the drafting and negotiation of a variety of aircraft lease arrangements for clients such as Southwest, AAR, and Alterna; as well as work involving Lufthansa, Air Berlin, Air Canada, JetBlue, and US Airways.
Kovacevic also has advised airline management on ongoing compliance matters related to aircraft leases and with the negotiation of loan agreements, various parties in connection with aircraft repossessions and negotiations with distressed lessees, and numerous lessors in portfolio lease acquisitions.
Tokyo/Singapore partner Robert Melson, a leader of K&L Gates’ global aviation practice, stated: “We are very pleased that Misha has joined our global aircraft finance and leasing team. He brings significant experience representing leasing companies, airlines, and financial institutions on both domestic U.S. and cross-border transactions. Being based in Seattle will allow Misha to be on the ground to act for our clients around the world who regularly take delivery of Boeing aircraft there. We are the only law firm to my knowledge to have offices in all of the Airbus and Boeing delivery locations -- Seattle and Charleston for Boeing, and France and Germany for Airbus.”
In December, K&L Gates added James Bradley as an aviation finance partner in its Singapore office, with three other new lawyers also joining the practice in 2017 in London-based partners Philip Perrotta and Sidanth Rajagopal and Tokyo-based counsel Robert Snodgrass. K&L Gates currently has over 60 attorneys, including 20 partners and counsel, around the globe advising on aircraft finance matters.