Richard M. Hakes

Richard has advised lenders, equity investors, leasing companies, and operators on a wide range of aircraft, maritime, and other asset-based and receivables-backed finance and leasing transactions (including their restructuring). He has extensive experience in a wide range of structured and large-scale cross-border transactions, including in export credit agency-related matters, commercial debt finance, Islamic finance, Japanese operating leases, tax lease structures, pre-delivery payment finance, operating leases, individual asset and portfolio sales and purchases, securitisations, capital markets products, joint ventures, business jet finance, engine finance, OEM purchase agreements, and restructurings.

His role frequently entails partnering with clients who are looking at some of the most complex and innovative transactions in the transportation space. As a result of this, Richard has been engaged by participants and won multiple awards in the nascent advanced air mobility (AAM) sector, advising on drone and eVTOL acquisitions and financings. Richard’s experience is also frequently sought after by aviation market participants in some of the largest aircraft disputes and litigations in the world, where, across multiple jurisdictions, he has partnered with advocates, attorneys, and barristers to represent debtors and creditors alike, with his boardroom counsel and industry knowledge being in particularly high demand. Where appropriate, Richard takes an aggressive and proactive approach, and has been described by clients in Chambers as “a source of great counsel, not just on purely legal matters but also on commercial aspects, where his market knowledge and commercial pragmatism are extremely valuable” and as “a commercially-minded lawyer who always has time to provide a thorough explanation of complex issues”.

Richard is particularly active and has won multiple awards in the special situations sector, having acted on many large secured and unsecured loan and lease receivable portfolios, distressed metal trades, and other innovative benchmark-agnostic investments for buyer, sellers, investors, and financiers alike, where his market knowledge is particularly useful in valuation discrepancy-based investments. He was among very few industry participants to be listed three times by Airline Economics in its 40 under 40 category, highlighting the most outstanding individuals in the commercial aviation industry under 40 years of age. Ranked by leading directories and named on multiple occasions as one of the leading individuals in the world of commercial aviation, Richard is often published and quoted by leading industry publications. He speaks regularly at industry events for both the shipping and aviation markets worldwide, and he also serves as editor-in-chief of Reed Smith’s popular “Legal Flight Deck” aviation blog.