Simon Hartley > Norton Rose Fulbright > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Combining core overarching transportation industry knowledge with a deep understanding of a myriad financial products to facilitate new money mandates and refinancings in the sector, Norton Rose Fulbright is well-positioned to provide a ‘commercial approach’ to a myriad stakeholders across all transport asset classes. The sheer size of the team allows a strong degree of specialisation at partner level, while the diversity of client types, including lessors, banks, funds, operators and export credit agencies, ensures that the team has wide knowledge across the market and a truly 360 degree perspective of each matter. Simon Hartley has developed a reputation among shipping clients for his ‘solutions driven’ service, particularly as it pertains to work in the cruise sector, where Carnival remains a core client. Eleanor Martin   has deep knowledge of the offshore shipping, in particular, and alongside restructuring partners in London and US, recently advised the lender committee in relation Altera’s restructuring helping to guide it out of Chapter 11 protection and its subsequent re-chartering of the Knarr FPSO to Equinor UK. The firm has also been very active on insolvencies in the aviation sector, with the team picking up roles as special aviation counsel in relation to the Chapter 11 restructuring of both LATAM and SAS. Appreciated for his ‘very high service levels and responsiveness’, Owen Mulholland has been pivotal to both these mandates, a reflection of his longstanding relationship with both aforementioned carriers. Duncan Batchelor is also key to the firm’s aviation finance practice and has particular expertise advising on structured financings including Japanese, French, UK and Luxembourg lease structures. Of the more junior practitioners in the team, Will Alete continues to grow his reputation in the aviation sector for a varied mix of airlines, banks and lessors, while at an associate level, Matthew Bambury  has a ‘great grasp of technical detail’, ensuring that he is a popular choice among lenders on structured leasing mandates within the maritime sector.