Watson Farley & Williams – Greek Branch

George Paleokrassas

George advises on a broad range of work spanning the maritime sector, acting for major shipping lenders and shipowners on the structuring and restructuring of loan and leasing transactions, the acquisition, sale and transfer of shipping loan portfolios, on transactions involving distressed assets as well as for owners, operators and investors on shipbuilding projects, long-term charter arrangements, joint ventures and other general corporate matters involving shipowning groups. He is universally recognised as one of the leading lawyers in the maritime sector both in Greece and internationally, including by legal directories Chambers Europe, Chambers Global, Legal 500 EMEA and IFLR 1000. In 2019, Chambers styled him quite simply an “excellent lawyer” and Legal 500 as “highly esteemed”. Clients have described him as “utterly outstanding.”

Maira Galani

Maira specialises in project and structured finance, mergers and acquisitions and regulations within in 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 as a rising star in Energy by Legal 500 EMEA and is described as ‘insightful and meticulous’, with ‘a very good knowledge of the energy legislative and regulatory framework’ by one of the largest legal publications.

Virginia Murray

Virginia specialises in acquisitions and financings in the Greek infrastructure and energy sectors, as well as real estate, corporate/M&A, insurance, mining and commodities transactions for both Greek and international investors and banks. Virginia graduated 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 then spent ten years at a major Greek commercial law firm before joining WFW in 2007. Virginia is widely recognised for her energy, projects, finance and corporate/M&A expertise.