Global, sector-focused law firm HFW has continued to strengthen its leading global aerospace practice with the hire of senior partner Peter Coles.
Peter is one of the market's top aviation regulatory and disputes experts, and joins HFW on 15 May from Clyde & Co, where he headed the firm's APAC aviation practice. Peter previously spent more than eight years as an aerospace partner at HFW.
This follows HFW's recruitment of aviation finance and leasing expert Rebecca Quayle, and the internal promotions of finance and leasing partner Barbara Pansadoro and legal directors Alix d'Arjuzon and Mark Waters.
HFW's preeminent global aerospace practice now comprises 23 partners and more than 90 lawyers in total across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
The team advise clients throughout the industry – including more than 100 airlines around the world – on all aspects of aviation liability, dispute resolution, regulatory, finance and leasing, and business and private aviation.
Mert Hifzi, Global Head of Aerospace, HFW:
"Peter is a hugely knowledgeable and experienced practitioner, and is obviously well known to our team and our clients. We are very pleased to welcome him back to HFW.
"We have plans to significantly expand our aviation offering globally, and will continue to actively target opportunities to further strengthen and broaden our offering to clients across the aviation industry worldwide."
Peter has more than 30 years' experience advising on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious aviation issues, including regulatory, employment, insurance, commercial and transactional, contingency planning and emergency response, investigations and prosecutions, multi-jurisdictional claims and disputes, enforcement, insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, parting out and end-of-life.
He acts for major international airlines, operators, MROs, business and private aviation companies, and other industry clients.
Peter is dual-qualified in England and Hong Kong, and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Peter Coles, Partner, HFW
"As well as being unrivalled for its aviation industry knowledge and the depth of its teams around the world, HFW also really stands apart for being a truly collegiate and collaborative firm. This very much feels like coming home."
This latest hire continues a period of sustained growth across HFW's sectors and international network, following the recent arrivals of construction partners Slava Kiryushin in Dubai and Ken Hickman in Australia, Paris corporate partner Thomas Forin, and London insurance partners Bob Haken and Mark Meyer.
HFW's Brazilian cooperation firm also recently merged to create Brazil's leading aviation and insurance practice, CAR.