Vedder Price has established its first overseas presence in London. The new London office will complement the firm’s existing US presence in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. The London office will initially expand Vedder Price’s prominent Global Transportation Finance practice with plans to develop this new office with additional practices. Leading the London office are Partners Gavin Hill, formerly head of the Aviation Finance practice at Clyde & Co., and Derek Watson, formerly at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Five associates have also joined Vedder Price’s Global Transportation Finance practice in London, all coming from Clyde & Co. Vedder Price President and CEO Michael A.
Nemeroff commented, “This is a milestone in Vedder Price’s 60-year history. The firm’s Global Transportation Finance practice is one of the world’s pre-eminent aviation finance practices, and it supports other areas of our expertise, such as mergers and acquisitions. Our goal is to establish a beachhead in London with Global Transportation Finance, then build on this strength to add further practice capabilities in London as client needs dictate.”
Vedder Price’s Global Transportation Finance practice recently represented Airbus S.A.S. in a transaction with American Airlines hailed as “the biggest airline order in history,” encompassing 260 Airbus aircraft valued at approximately $38 billion. Dean Gerber, Chair of Vedder Price’s Global Transportation Finance practice, noted, “Over the past 20 years, our Global Transportation Finance team has grown from a few shareholders in Chicago to nearly 50 lawyers across four offices. Nearly all asset finance work—not confined to aviation but including business aviation, rail, maritime and heavy equipment financing across a number of industries—is done under either U.S. or English law. Gavin and his team are in a position to be of service to both U.S.-based and international clients who execute deals under English Law.”