Watson Farley & Williams – Greek Branch

Sector knowledge

Alexandros Damianidis

Alexandros is a Partner in the Assets & Structured Finance Group.Alexandros’ practice focusses on advising major international banks on shipping finance transactions, including sale and leaseback structures, as well as restructuring and work-out situations and handling inter-creditor and subordination arrangements in relation to every type of vessel. He also advises shipping companies on the sale and purchase of vessels, negotiating shipbuilding contracts and refund guarantees, joint ventures and shareholders’ agreements, as well as debt and equity arrangements.Alexandros also represents lenders on the financing of commercial and leisure aircraft, including aircraft registrations and mortgages in Greece, as well as financing of yachts.Alexandros is recognised as a leading shipping finance lawyer in the Greek market by legal directories Chambers Europe and Chambers Global. Chambers highlights that he is well placed to advise on commercial shipping matters including vessel acquisition financing, debt refinancing and the provision of corporate loans to shipping companies. Clients told Chambers that “Alexandros Damianidis has deep knowledge of shipping transactions and is calm under pressure.”He is qualified both in Greece and in England & Wales.

Christina Economides

Christina is a Partner in the Assets & Structured Finance Group.She specialises in the maritime, corporate, banking and financial sectors.Christina has wide experience in cross-border asset finance transactions, corporate loans, project and acquisition finance, fleet acquisitions, newbuilding contracts, sale and purchase agreements, sale and leaseback deals, bond issuance, ECA-backed facilities, loan portfolio transfers, loan restructurings, as well as corporate acquisitions and public offerings.She advises companies and operators, banks, financial institutions as well as private equity funds.Christina joined the firm in 2017 after working in both an international and a Greek law firm. She is dual-qualified to practice law in both England and Greece and is fluent in English and Greek alongside speaking some Arabic.Christina is recommended as an expert asset finance lawyer by legal directory IFLR1000.

Maira Galani

Maira is a Partner in the Project & Structured Finance Group.Maira specialises in regulation, mergers & acquisitions and project finance within the energy sector. She has extensive experience in the Greek energy market and related regulations, environmental law and land rights, as well as advising on corporate structures and corporate governance, employment law and insurance law.Since joining the firm in 2007, she has worked on numerous complex share sale and acquisition transactions in the Greek energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as in privatisations.Maira is recognised by Legal 500 EMEA for her expertise in the Greek energy market. She is noted for her strength in the renewable energy sector and regarded as a regulatory expert.

Vassiliki Georgopoulos

Vassiliki is a Partner in the Assets & Structured Finance Group.Her main areas of practice are shipping finance and other non-contentious aspects of shipping such as sale and purchase transactions, JV agreements and shipbuilding contracts. She also has an excellent reputation for non-contentious advice in the yachting industry.Vassiliki acts for a wide variety of banks, private equity funds and other financial institutions in the structuring and restructuring of loan transactions as well as for private and public shipowning entities.She is recognised as a leading expert in shipping finance by legal directories Chambers Europe and Chambers Global. In 2023, clients told Chambers that she is 'sophisticated, knowledgeable and very client-friendly' and also 'very diligent, possesses deep knowledge and has extensive experience in her field of expertise, which is translated into the production of very accurate documentation and advice.'

Tasos Giannopoulos

Anastasios (Tasos) is a Senior Associate in the Project & Structured Finance Group. Tasos specialises in energy law, advising international and domestic clients on investments in the energy sector, with emphasis on renewables and battery storage projects.Tasos is regularly involved in large scale M&A transactions and has experience in the energy regulatory framework, project development and construction contracts and real estate. He has a MSc in Law and Engineering for Energy from the University of Thessaloniki. He is also an experienced litigator in civil and administrative law disputes, having represented numerous clients before the Greek Courts, including the Supreme Court.Tasos has been recognised in Legal 500 EMEA 2024 edition, where clients commented that: “Tasos is the kind of lawyer you want to have by your side because of his extraordinary commitment, approachability, readiness and thoroughness, among others. He advises in a strategic manner considering the reality of the business and market...”

Dimitris Giomelakis

Dimitris is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Group.Dimitris has over 18 years’ experience practicing shipping law in Athens. His main area of expertise is in wet and dry shipping litigation and dispute resolution. He regularly advises leading Greek and international shipping companies, clubs, operators, charterers, underwriters and classifications societies in litigation before the Greek courts. He represents clients in major casualties, marine accidents, salvage claims and all kinds of civil, insurance and reinsurance disputes. His expertise extends to litigation with government authorities arising from fines, tax, and social security disputes and to marine labour claims.Dimitris’ experience includes advising multi-national companies on establishing a presence in Greece and Greek companies on their incorporation, structuring, taxation, and financing issues, as well as compliance with the legal and regulatory framework.Finally, Dimitris also advises clients on property-related transactions and conducts audits for insurers and reinsurers.

Valina Giouzelaki

Valina is Counsel in the Project & Structured Finance Group.Valina is a project finance lawyer with a strong focus on the energy sector, particularly renewable energy. She has extensive experience advising on the development, financing, acquisition and restructuring of energy projects, both in Greece and across multiple jurisdictions. Her practice spans a wide range of technologies including solar, wind and battery energy storage systems, acting for lenders, sponsors and developers.She regularly leads complex transactions involving contractual and financing aspects of energy projects and has a deep understanding of the commercial and legal drivers in the sector.In addition to her energy expertise, Valina advises on asset finance transactions, with particular emphasis on shipping and aviation.Valina holds a law degree from the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens and an LL.M. from King's College London. She joined the firm in 2007.

Alexia Hatzimichalis

Alexia is a Partner in the Assets & Structured Finance Group and Head of WFW Athens Office.Alexia advises on a wide range of ship finance matters, including the drafting and negotiation of revolving and term loan facilities, shareholders’ agreements, shipbuilding contracts and refund guarantees. She has been involved in the renegotiation of shipbuilding contracts and in a multiple order of new buildings by one of the largest Greek ship-owning groups.Alexia also regularly acts for buyers and sellers on sale and purchase transactions.Her clients include Greek and international banks, other financial institutions, Greek ship-owning groups and US-listed companies.She is recommended as a leading expert in her field by legal directories Legal 500 EMEA, Chambers Europe and Chambers Global. Most recently in 2023, clients said to Chambers that “Alexia Hatzimichalis is able to gauge the idiosyncrasies of clients and lenders in a negotiation so as to provide the best outcome for all parties involved."

Natalie Jackson

Natalie is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Group.Natalie specialises in maritime law and has an emphasis on dispute resolution arising from charter parties, bills of lading, MoA and shipbuilding disputes, salvage, collisions, groundings and general average claims. She primarily advises shipowners and their insurers on a wide range of both dry and wet shipping matters and handles High Court proceedings as well as LMAA arbitrations and LOF salvage arbitrations and mediations.Natalie is dual qualified in England & Wales and in Greece and is a native speaker in English and Greek, fluent in French and has a conversational knowledge of Italian.

Marsila Karpida

Marsila is a Partner in the Assets & Structured Finance Group.Marsila advises on a wide range of shipping and ship finance matters, frequently acting for domestic and international shipping banks, private and publicly listed ship-owning groups, and joint ventures.Her practice focuses on matters involving loan and security documentation, shareholders’ and investors’ agreements, charterparty negotiations, shipbuilding contracts, sale and purchase and general commercial documents. She has also been extensively involved in the transfers of a number of shipping portfolios by various major banks and in the restructuring of several loan transactions.Marsila joined the WFW Athens office in 2003 and moved to New York in 2012 where she joined the firm’s New York office, qualified as a New York attorney, and was promoted to partner a few years later.In October 2020 Marsila relocated to Greece and re-joined the Athens office. She continues her practice while in Athens but she manages to split her time between Athens and New York with an aim to serve both her Greek and NY clients.Marsila has been recommended by legal directories Legal 500 US, the latter of which currently ranks her in their “next generation” category of Partners for her shipping finance practice.

Dimitrianna Kolonia

Dimitrianna is a Senior Associate in the Project & Structured Finance Group.She specialises in banking and finance law and in particular in project and structured finance transactions. Dimitrianna supports the team primarily in drafting and negotiating multilateral finance agreements (involving loan and security documentation) and transaction documents regarding project finance transactions in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors.Dimitrianna has also experience in shipping finance and litigation before the Greek civil courts.Dimitrianna obtained a law degree from the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2015 and continued her studies at the University of Piraeus gaining an M.Sc. in Banking and Finance Law in 2018.She joined the firm in July 2021. Prior to joining Watson Farley and Williams, Dimitrianna practised banking and finance law in a renowned commercial law firm in Athens and in the Greek financial sector.

Nikolaos Kostikas

Nikolaos is a Partner in the Project & Structured Finance Group.Nikolaos advises on a broad range of domestic and cross-border corporate, structured and project transactions, specialising in finance, corporate, real estate & hospitality projects, including banking & capital markets regulatory matters as well as data protection law. He has been involved and advised clients on a number of large infrastructure projects in Greece including airports, roads, ports and schools.He also has a wide experience in restructuring, work-out and NPL transactions, and in handling commercial, banking and real estate litigation cases.Prior to joining WFW in 2010, Nikolaos practised banking, finance and corporate law at a renowned domestic Greek law firm for five years and spent 10 years as in-house counsel in the financial services sector.Nikolaos is recommended as a banking & finance expert by legal directories Legal 500 EMEA, Chambers Europe and Chambers Global. Most recently in 2023, Chambers commented that “He has extensive know-how of various type of financings and he understands our needs very well and completes transaction efficiently”.

Vasso Koumpli

Vasso is a Senior Associate in the Project & Structured Finance Group. Vasso specialises in Greek and EU energy law, energy regulation and energy sector disputes. She advises developers, investors, sponsors and financial institutions on a broad range of regulatory matters affecting renewable energy, energy storage and infrastructure projects, including permitting, grid connection, environmental, competition and state aid law, merger control, foreign direct investment (FDI) screening and foreign subsidies regulation matters, as well as compliance with evolving regulatory frameworks. Her practice covers the full lifecycle of energy and infrastructure projects, from development and financing through to acquisition, operation and decommissioning. She regularly supports clients on the regulatory aspects of project development, M&A transactions and project financings, as well as the structuring, drafting and negotiation of key project agreements, including EPC, O&M, PPP/PFI and land rights agreements, and complex multi-party infrastructure arrangements. Vasso also advises on contentious and risk management matters in the energy sector, including regulatory disputes and alternative dispute resolution proceedings, acting both as counsel and as a neutral in mediations and arbitrations. Consistently recognised by The Legal 500 EMEA for her expertise in energy law and energy arbitration, Vasso complements her practice by serving as a Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Institute of International and Foreign Law and teaches mediation at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences. A regular author and speaker on energy regulation and dispute resolution, she frequently serves as Greece’s national reporter at leading international legal conferences and fora.

Marisetta Marcopoulou

Marisetta is a Senior Consultant in the Project & Structured Finance Group.Marisetta is a banking and finance lawyer. Her project finance experience covers both international and domestic work on the energy sector, acting for both financiers and sponsors. She has a particular focus on renewable energy projects and has experience in mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructurings.Marisetta has also advised on shipping and asset finance deals and she has wide experience in advising on restructurings and work-outs and in providing assistance to investors and Greek banks on the sale and purchase of non-performing loan portfolios.She joined Watson Farley & Williams in 2007 after nine years at a major Greek commercial law firm and was made partner in 2010.

Konstantinos Mexias

Konstantinos (Dinos) is a Partner in the Assets & Structured Finance Group.Dinos is qualified in England & Wales, New York, Greece and the Marshall Islands. He advises on all aspects of shipping finance including loan financings, sale and leaseback transactions (with a particular focus on acting on behalf of shipping companies), ECA-backed facilities, restructurings and loan portfolio transfers. His transactional expertise further includes corporate acquisitions, joint venture arrangements and the sale and purchase of ships. He also advises on Marshall Islands and Liberian maritime and corporate law matters, including advice to US-listed Marshall Islands entities on their decision-making process and other corporate governance issues.He has extensive experience acting for major banks, private equity investors and (both private and publicly listed) shipping companies advising on all aspects of shipping finance including loan financings, sale and leaseback transactions, restructurings/work-outs and loan portfolio transfers as well as on matters relating to sale and purchase of ships and corporate acquisitions.Dinos had previously been seconded to Australis Maritime Limited where he assisted on leasing and other asset finance transactions.He is recommended as a notable practitioner in asset finance by legal directory IFLR 1000 and as a rising star in shipping finance by Legal 500 EMEA.

Aris Moschopoulos

Aris is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Group.Aris has over 14 years’ contentious experience, primarily in both dry and wet shipping matters, as well as in insurance and reinsurance disputes (marine and non-marine). He has been involved in numerous charterparty, bills of lading, international trade, casualties, worldwide ship arrests, MOA and shipbuilding, marine and non-marine insurance and reinsurance disputes. He regularly handles High Court proceedings and arbitrations under various set of rules with many of his matters being reported.On the advisory side, Aris is often also called upon to resolve time sensitive and complex disputes involving various difficult jurisdictions and is regularly instructed to lead team of lawyers, experts and other service providers in various jurisdictions to ensure the timely resolution of a dispute during its early stages.In recent years, he has built and developed a significant advisory and contentious sanctions practice encompassing all regimes relevant to shipping and international trade.He is dual qualified in England & Wales and in Greece.

Virginia Murray

Virginia is a Partner in the International Project & Structured Finance Group and Head of the Greek Law energy, corporate, projects and finance practice.Virginia graduated in Law from Cambridge University in 1989 and practised as a barrister in London for five years before moving to Athens and qualifying as a Greek lawyer in 1998.She joined Watson Farley & Williams in 2007 after ten years at a major Greek commercial law firm and specialises in acquisitions and financing in the infrastructure and energy sector, as well as real estate, corporate M&A, insurance and finance deals in Greece for Greek and foreign investors and banks. She is listed as a leading individual in the energy sector in most ranking publications and is a member of Legal 500’s Hall of Fame for her many years’ top ranking as a Greek energy expert.Virginia is widely recognised for her energy, infrastructure, finance and corporate/M&A expertise by legal directories.

Eleni Stylianou

Eleni is a Senior Associate in the Project & Structured Finance Group.Eleni specialises in M&A and project transactions with a particular focus on the energy, infrastructure and hospitality sectors.She advises clients in in all aspects of corporate and commercial law, corporate acquisitions, corporate finance, governance advice and in the drafting and negotiation of transaction agreements.She has been involved in complex M&A (both buy and sell-side) transactions as well as corporate restructuring projects.

Georgia Theakston

Georgia is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution Group.Georgia has a wide range of contentious experience, including the maritime sector. Georgia deals with both dry and wet shipping matters, advising a broad range of clients on disputes arising out of commercial transactions and contracts. Georgia has extensive experience litigating charterparty, bill of lading, MOA and sale and purchase disputes. She is regularly involved in arbitration and English High Court proceedings and has experience at the Court of Appeal. Georgia is also often called upon to advise clients who wish to explore alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation.Prior to joining Watson Farley & Williams, Georgia was twice seconded to IG P&I clubs in Greece, where she assisted as Legal Counsel, handling a wide range of P&I and FD&D matters within the Greek market.She is England & Wales Qualified and is a member of the Piraeus Bar Association.