Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) is delighted to welcome aviation finance expert Chris Mitchell, who joins the firm’s Aviation team as a Partner in London. Chris was previously at Allen & Overy in London.

Chris has a broad range of asset finance experience, with a strategic focus on the aviation finance and leasing sector, where he has advised banks, investors, leasing companies and airlines on the full range of asset finance products, including debt finance, operating leasing, tax-based leasing, capital markets products, portfolio trading, purchase contracts and restructuring. Chris has advised on several award-winning transactions and is continually recognised by legal directories and industry journals as a leading lawyer in the aviation sector. Chris is dual-qualified in both England & Wales and New South Wales, Australia.

Chris is the most recent of several senior hires and promotions across WFW’s Global Aviation Group in the past two years, including Jackson Chow, William Ho and their team joining in Hong Kong, Matteo Castioni and his team joining in Italy, Pete O’Hare joining in London, and Dominic Pearson, Patrick Moore and Dhruv Paul being promoted in London and Dubai.

Global Aviation Sector Co-Head Jim Bell commented: “We are delighted to welcome Chris to WFW. He is a nice person and an excellent lawyer, with first-class knowledge and experience in aviation finance and leasing. We believe that Chris is a fantastic addition to WFW’s Global Aviation Group as we continue to build our reputation as one of the leading legal advisors to the aviation industry.”

Chris added: “I am excited to be joining one of most enterprising and dynamic aviation practices in the market. I look forward to working with so many talented new colleagues across WFW’s international network and using its unrivalled transport finance platform to expand and strengthen my practice.”