Lauded by clients as ‘forward-looking’ and ’excellent’, Stephenson Harwood draws superlative praise on account of its wide-ranging capabilities in advising a balanced array of stakeholders, including banks, financial institutions, leasing companies, commercial lenders, lessors, airlines, and export credit agencies, on cross-jurisdictional deals across aviation and shipping arenas. The firm’s aviation finance team, one of the largest in Hong Kong, is well-versed in handling the entire spectrum of matters, including financing, leasing, and trading of commercial aircraft and business jets across Hong Kong, the wider APAC region, and Europe. Associates Raina Xian and Louis Ng excel in these areas. Under the leadership of Simon Wong, whose expertise covers aircraft repossession and airline insolvency and rehabilitation, the team has handled a host of defaults and debt restructurings. The firm’s shipping subgroup, co-headed by Hongkai Zhou and Simone Liu, is emblematic of the eclectic nature of the firm’s workflow. In addition to providing advisory and risk mitigation services, the team is frequently involved in cross-border financings and restructuring matters.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Professional, dedicated and enthusiastic.'
‘Always maintain professionalism, dedication, enthusiasm and other excellent work attitudes and qualities.'
‘They have an excellent team of lawyers who can handle various kinds of aircraft transactions. They are very responsive, and their advice is sharp and useful.’
‘I am impressed by Simon Wong. He is a great aviation lawyer in Hong Kong. He knows the nature of work and has in-depth knowledge of aviation operation matters in each country.’
‘The partners are hands-on and are willing to spend time on the details of the project, which is amazing.'
‘The SH team is deeply involved in cross-border financial business, has extensive business experience, and is good at handling complex and innovative transactions. The team has solid professional capabilities, can quickly respond to customer needs, and can provide high-quality legal services. It is a forward-looking and excellent team.'
‘Simon Wong is a senior partner in SH's aviation business. He has extensive practice experience and has participated in various structured aviation transactions, including finance leases, sale and leasebacks, prepayment financing, delivery financing, refinancing and leasehold assets.'
‘Good customer service and very knowledgeable in the industry.'