국제여객 및 화물운송을 선도했던 미국 항공사들을 대리했던 것을 비롯하여 최근에는 항공산업의 통합, 구조조정에 참여하고 있는 것에 이르기까지, 반세기 이상 저희는 항공법 분야의 선두주자로서의 입지를 굳혀 왔습니다. 항공산업은 극히 변화무쌍한 분야라고 할 수 있지만 고객에게 한결같이 높은 수준의 법률서비스를 제공한 결과, 오늘날 저희는 20개국 이상의 국가에 기반을 둔 고객들을 대리하고 있습니다.
다양한 업무분야를 담당하는 저희 변호사들은 국영 항공사 및 공항의 민영화, 항공기 및 기타 설비의 취득 및 이를 위한 자금조달, 스톡옵션의 구성, 인수·합병, 불공정거래행위 관련 분쟁이나 관련 거래에서 독점규제 및 공정거래법에 대한 법률자문, 주식 및 채권의 공모, 담보부 거래(secured transactions), 기업공개(IPO), 항공연합체와 관련된 협상, 공항의 국제적 활용의 증대, 기술이전 협약, 노사협의 및 분쟁, 소송 및 중재 그리고 파산 및 구조조정 등 세계 곳곳에서 발생하는 각종 사안에 관해 상호협력하여 항공업계 고객들에게 자문하고 있습니다.
저희의 주요한 업무는 다음과 같습니다:
- Counsel to Aeroports de Paris in €1.3 billion IPO.
- Regular counsel to Italy’s flagship airline Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane including in recent representations such as its 2006 €1 billion capital increase—a key element in the Italian government's rescue package for the troubled airline—and in Alitalia’s action in the European Court of First Instance seeking to annul the July 2001 European Commission decision to authorize State Aid conditionally.
- Counsel to Alenia Aeronautica, subsidiary of Finmeccanica, in its joint venture with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Corp. (SCAC), the subsidiary of Sukhoi Aviation Holding, for the development and commercialization of the Superjet 100, a new mid-range civilian aircraft.
- Counsel to Travelport/ Galileo, one of the three major computer reservation systems (which recently merged with Worldspan), with respect to a number of merger control, antitrust, and regulatory matters.
- Counsel to Airline Tariff Publishing Company, a joint venture of U.S. and non-U.S. carriers that disseminates fare information worldwide to computer reservations systems, airlines and travel agents, in the largest antitrust class-action price fixing suit ever brought, and in a separate action by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging tacit collusion among U.S. airlines to use ATP as a mechanism to manipulate air fares.
- Counsel to Panamanian airline Copa in its IPO, one of the first Panamanian companies to be listed on the NYSE.
- Counsel to Continental Airlines in a broad range of corporate and financing activities, including the issuance of equity and secured and unsecured debt securities, the renegotiation of various loan agreements, litigations and e-commerce matters.
- Counsel to British Airways in the EC Commission’s approval of its strategic alliance with Iberia and GB Airways.
- Counsel to the Ministry of Communications and Transportation of Mexico in the Mexican government’s $203 million sale of 36% of the outstanding capital stock of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A. de C.V. to Empresas ICA, S.A. de C.V.
- Regular counsel to Airbus Industrie including recent representations in trade matters relating to aircraft manufacture and in a matter before both the U.S. and EU antitrust authorities, among others.
Counsel to British Airways in an antitrust investigation by the UK Office of Fair Trading into the airline’s corporate discounting practices.
- Counsel to the Belgian State and Belgian institutional shareholders in the €735 million sale of a 70% interest in Brussels International Airport Company.
- Counsel to equity sponsors of the only two major U.S. airlines to emerge successfully from bankruptcy. (We are currently active in over 10 airline restructurings worldwide.)