Bird & Bird is delighted to announce the appointment of Jim Bell, a rising star in the field of aviation finance, as a partner in the Aviation & Aerospace Group, based in London.
Listed as a 'Rising Star' in both Airfinance Journal and the Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers directory, Jim joins from Allen & Overy, where he was a Senior Associate in the Structured and Asset Finance Group.
Jim has significant experience advising banks, export credit agencies, lessors, airlines, individuals and manufacturers across a spectrum of aviation matters including debt financing, export finance, operating leasing, PDP financing, portfolio sales, tax leasing products, capital markets products, Islamic finance, regulatory and a range of corporate and commercial matters in the aviation industry. The addition of Jim's expertise in complex aircraft financing supports Bird & Bird's continued expansion and development within sophisticated work products.
Jim joins at a time of continued growth for the Aviation & Aerospace Group. Bird & Bird has also recently welcomed the appointment of the following lawyers into the Aviation & Aerospace Group: Marcus Pyke (formerly Simmons & Simmons), Rakhmad Sobirov (from Bombardier) and Christine Somers (from Clifford Chance) based in London, Shalini Wurzberger (formerly Freshfields) based in Frankfurt and Christopher Healy re-joined the firm in Hong Kong.
Paul Briggs, co-head of the Aviation & Aerospace Group says: "It's a pleasure to welcome Jim to our friendly and ambitious team at Bird & Bird. We are regularly winning new clients and working on more complex transactions. Jim shares our passion for the sector and is hungry to get involved."
Jim adds: "I'm delighted to join the Aerospace & Aviation Group at Bird & Bird. The team has fantastic energy and ambition and a real in-depth understanding of their clients and the aviation market. I hope to be able to continue to promote the team's success by working with clients on new and exciting transactions."
