Airline Economics, the flagship publication dedicated to the commercial aviation finance and leasing industry, received a record amount of nominations and an unprecedented amount of endorsements this year, many from senior members of the aviation community. The 40 members of the final list received 485 endorsements in total, with the majority of those from clients.

Hakes, who was first recognised in the 40 under 40 class in 2017 and then again in 2020, built the Reed Smith aviation group from the ground up when he rejoined the firm in 2017, having previously trained as an associate at Reed Smith in 2007. At the beginning of this year, Hakes was promoted to chair of the firm’s global Transportation Industry Group.

Hakes said: “I’m delighted to have been named in such a prestigious list that is truly endorsed by clients in the industry.

“It meant such a lot to me to have been given the opportunity to build the Reed Smith aviation group to the 40+ lawyers we have today. I work with an exceptional team who are extremely knowledgeable about the industry and are becoming thought leaders in aviation, keen to share their understanding of current and emerging trends with our clients and other industry stakeholders, something I am extremely passionate about.”

Reed Smith’s aviation lawyers recently authored a guide to some of the challenges and opportunities in the cargo sector, in a publication entitled ‘Global Air Freight’s Future’.

Victoria Tozer-Pennington, editor and co-founder of Airline Economics, said: “Our congratulations to all of the talented individuals who were nominated. The impressive and substantial achievements by all the individuals on our short list this year is testament to the breadth of young talent in the aviation community.”