Winstead PC is pleased to announce that highly regarded airline finance practitioners, Jaeyong (Jae) So and Jaesuk (Jay) Yoo, have joined the firm as shareholders as Winstead opens a New York office.
The addition of So and Yoo, who both came to Winstead from a leading international law firm, bolsters Winstead’s preeminent airline practice, which represents some of the largest airlines in the world. The New York office is the firm’s eighth nationwide. By opening an office in New York, the hub of financing transactions for airlines and their financing parties, Winstead positions itself to better serve not only its airline clients but other clients who are based or conduct business in New York and the Northeast.
“The firm is committed to strategic growth responsive to client demands, and the addition of the New York office is certainly in line with that strategy,” said David Dawson, Winstead’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Jae and Jay are the perfect attorneys to anchor Winstead’s presence in New York and to expand our airline practice.”
So and Yoo have extensive experience advising airlines with respect to financing and fleet matters, including leases, mortgage financings, export credit agency financings, capital markets transactions (such as enhanced equipment trust certificates and notes offerings), restructurings, aircraft purchase agreements, regional jet matters and other fleet transactions. So is recommended by The Legal 500 and ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA. So graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and received his juris doctor from Harvard Law School. Yoo received his bachelor's degree from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea and his juris doctor from Cornell Law School. Yoo was named a "Rising Star" by Airfinance Journal in 2019.
“We were drawn to Winstead because of their strong reputation, commitment to the aviation industry, and their deep bench of attorneys with unmatched experience in a broad array of airline transactions and their extensive airline client base,” said So. “We are excited to kick start Winstead’s airline finance practice from the New York office.”
“After knowing and respecting Jae and Jay through the years, we are thrilled to add their decades of experience with the most complex and critical airline financings to our team. We envision that the combination of our two preeminent practices will make Winstead’s airline practice even more uniquely positioned to serve the airline industry in virtually all airline transactions,” said Bart Biggers, Winstead shareholder and chair of the firm’s Airline Industry Group. “Jae and Jay are highly-regarded airline finance attorneys, and it was a no-brainer on both sides to form a mega airline transactions practice together. The addition of airline finance to our unparalleled ‘nose-to-tail’ experience makes us the go-to for airlines around the world.”
Comprised of a team of more than 20 attorneys who spend more than 90% of their time representing airlines worldwide, Winstead’s Airline Industry Group supports the transactional needs of virtually every component of the modern airline, including finance, fleet transactions, technical operations/maintenance, procurement, airport operations, human resources, real estate, information technology, sales and marketing, and customer experience. Airlines regularly engage Winstead for the firm’s unprecedented approach to an airline practice—particularly the group’s size, vast knowledge base, and understanding of market-based terms—which provide them with faster time to market on transactions.