Watson Farley & Williams (Asia)

Watson Farley and Williams is an international law firm that focuses on energy, infrastructure, and transport. It advises clients across the aviation and aerospace, maritime, rail, power, and renewables sectors. The firm also works with clients in mining, oil and gas, commodities, and international trade. It combines technical legal knowledge with experience that is specific to each industry to support complex transactions, regulatory matters, and project development.

The firm provides a broad range of legal services relevant to aviation and aerospace. These include asset finance and leasing, capital markets, corporate and acquisition finance, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory and competition advice. Lawyers in the finance practice advise on financing structures, leasing agreements, and documentation for aircraft acquisition and management. The capital markets team works with issuers, sponsors, arrangers, underwriters, export credit agencies, and institutional investors on domestic and international issues involving debt and equity, structured finance, and derivatives.

Watson Farley and Williams handles dispute resolution for the aviation sector through its aviation and aerospace dispute resolution practice. This team represents clients in disputes over agreements, regulatory issues, and related litigation. It assists with negotiations, settlements, and court proceedings when conflicts emerge. The firm also offers expertise in international arbitration, energy dispute resolution, infrastructure dispute resolution, and public international law.

The transport sector group serves airlines, lessors, lenders, investors, and manufacturers. The firm works on mandates that cross borders and coordinates across its global network. Team members are based in mainstream financial centers across Europe, the USA, the Middle East, and Asia, with offices in locations including London, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, New York, and Hamburg. This global footprint helps it support local and cross border transactions for aviation and transport clients.

The firm publishes the Global Aviation Resource Index, or GARI, which provides data and insights for the aviation market. It also produces reports, articles, and white papers on topics such as travel law, regulatory updates, and infrastructure financing. The firm issues press releases on capital markets transactions and project milestones. These resources reflect the firm’s engagement with current developments in the transport and aviation industries.

Beyond finance and disputes, the firm advises aviation clients on construction, employment, private equity, public law, real estate, restructuring and insolvency, tax, and financial services regulation. This breadth allows it to manage connected legal needs that arise alongside aviation transactions and operations.

Watson Farley and Williams operates as a limited liability partnership registered in the United Kingdom. Its registered office is in London. The firm maintains a global outlook and advises clients on mandates that span multiple jurisdictions across its international offices.

Services

• Asset finance and leasing
• Capital markets
• Corporate and M&A
• Aviation and aerospace dispute resolution
• Regulatory and competition
• International arbitration
• Tax
• Construction
• Employment
• Restructuring and insolvency