A&L Goodbody LLP's team has an established presence in the aviation finance sector. Under the leadership of Marie O’Brien, the aviation and transport finance group acts as counsel to a client roster of financial institutions, aircraft lessors and private investors, and the practice continues to handle instructions from an increasing number of Chinese clients, especially Chinese lessors. Seamus Ó’Cróinín is chair of the firm, and is a respected practitioner in the sector, handling transactional matters in the arena to advise clients on a series of transactions. Maria McElhinney returned to the firm's Dublin headquarters from New York in June 2023. Keith Mulhern is singled out for his contributions. Catherine Duffy has now retired from practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘A&L Goodbody has the top Irish law asset finance practice.’
‘Marie O'Brien and Seamus Ó’Cróinín are both superb. They are the best at problem solving and dealing with complex Irish law issues.’
‘The asset finance team at A&L Goodbody has had a fantastic reputation for many years. Their depth and experience is bar none. The are involved in many of the novel transactions in the aviation space (financing, corporate M&A, regulatory). They are leaders in their field.’
‘Marie O'Brien is the leader of the asset finance team. She is very much in the know when it comes to setting up aircraft leasing platforms in Ireland.’
‘Great strength in depth and very responsive team. We find A&LG's pricing competitive and the work is always of a high standard.’
‘Maria McElhinney is very helpful and knowledgable in the aviation space and her team provide efficient, reliable, quality output at a reasonable price. ’
Key clients
- AerGen
- Aergo Capital
- Aero Capital Solutions, Inc
- Air Lease Corporation
- Airbus
- Aircastle
- Apollo Aviation LP / Merx Aviation Finance/Perseus Aviation Finance
- Asahi Aviation
- ASL Aviation
- AVIC International Leasing Company
- Carlyle Aviation Management
- Castlelake, L.P
- China Aircraft Leasing Company
- Chorus Aviation Capital
- Citibank, N.A.
- Clover Aircraft Leasing
- Credit Agricole
- Deutsche Bank
- Griffin Global Asset Management
- High Ridge Aviation
- ICBC Financing Leasing Company
- ING Capital LLC
- InterGlobe Aviation
- Irish Continental Group, plc
- Macquarie AirFinance
- Merlin Aviation
- Merx Aviation Finance
- Milestone Aviation Group
- Minsheng Financial Leasing
- Morgan Stanley
- NCB Capital
- PIMCO LLC
- PK AirFinance
- Seraph Aviation Group Ltd
- Sculptor Capital Management
- Sichuan Development Holding
- Sky Leasing LLC
- SMBC Aviation Capital Limited
- Stellar Jay Ireland DAC
- Stellwagen Finance
- Thunderbolt III Aircraft Lease Limited
- Virgo Investment Group / Zephyrus Aviation Capital
- Voyager Aviation
- Wings Capital Partners
Work highlights
- Acted as Irish counsel to Macquarie Airfinance Group on the acquisition and financing of a portfolio of 53 aircraft from Alafco Aviation Lease & Finance.
- Advised investment manager PIMCO and the former executives of GECAS, PK AirFinance on the creation of High Ridge Aviation, a lending and leasing platform operating primarily in the commercial aviation industry.
- Advised Griffin Global Asset Management Limited on an $1bn unsecured note issuance by GGAM Finance Limited.
Lawyers
Hall of fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Marie O’Brien