K&L Gates Welcomes Seattle Aviation Counsel

Seattle - Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added aviation lawyer Misha Kovacevic as a counsel in its Seattle office. Kovacevic joins K&L Gates from the Chicago office of Vedder Price P.C.

Fluent in German and Serbian/Croatian, Kovacevic has more than a decade of international experience in the aircraft leasing and asset finance areas. Among the matters he has handled for major aviation and finance clients have been the subleasing of the entire AirTran Boeing 717 fleet to Delta; the negotiation of Alafco’s first U.S. market leases of A320 aircraft to Allegiant Air; the drafting and structuring of a novel Korean aviation investment fund; and the drafting and negotiation of a variety of aircraft lease arrangements for clients such as Southwest, AAR, and Alterna; as well as work involving Lufthansa, Air Berlin, Air Canada, JetBlue, and US Airways.

Kovacevic also has advised airline management on ongoing compliance matters related to aircraft leases and with the negotiation of loan agreements, various parties in connection with aircraft repossessions and negotiations with distressed lessees, and numerous lessors in portfolio lease acquisitions.

“We are pleased to welcome Misha to K&L Gates,” said Pallavi Mehta Wahi, administrative partner of the Seattle office. “He enhances the capabilities of our firmwide aviation team, while expanding the local services we offer to clients in the Pacific Northwest.”

K&L Gates’ highly regarded aviation practice encompasses virtually all aspects of aviation law, including aircraft finance and leasing, airlines and charter operators, corporate and general aviation, airports and infrastructure, manufacturers and suppliers, tax, and unmanned aircraft systems. Lawyers in the practice represent a wide variety of clients on diverse local, regional, domestic, and global matters throughout the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

The city’s oldest law office as well as one of its largest, K&L Gates’ Seattle office offers a full spectrum of legal services to emerging, middle-market, and capital market participants as well as non-profit, governmental, and private clients in such areas of law as corporate, litigation, electronic discovery, intellectual property, labor and employment, environmental, and energy, among others. In June, the office also added former U.S. Attorney Michael D. McKay as a partner in the firm’s investigations, enforcement and white collar practice.