UK-headquartered Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has created five new partners from its worldwide team of shipping lawyers.
The firm promoted 11 lawyers to its partnership for 2023 overall, bringing the total number of partners to 195.
Senior partner George Paleokrassas said his colleagues’ passion and commitment greatly enhance the partnership and the firm generally, ensuring continued expansion and success.
Managing partner Lindsey Keeble added: “Our new partners span our core sectors of energy, infrastructure and transport across multiple services, as well as being based throughout our international network in Europe, Asia and the Americas, including in our newly opened Seoul and Tokyo offices.”
Laura Cadenas is part of the assets and structured finance team in Madrid.
She has more than 16 years’ experience advising on transport-related financing transactions, especially in shipping and aviation.
Cadenas specialises in tax lease transactions for vessels, shipbuilding contracts and export credit agency-backed financings.
In Toyko, WFW has promoted Shusuke Fukunaga, who focuses on a wide range of domestic and cross-border banking and finance transactions in maritime and aviation.
He regularly advises banks, trading houses and corporate investors.
Ricky Kim is a new partner in Seoul, specialising in all aspects of ship financing, with more than a decade’s experience.
He mainly advises banks, export credit agencies, private equity investors, funds and shipping companies, including owners, managers and charterers.
London lawyers promoted
Finally, two partners have been created in London.
Marinos Papadopoulos is an expert in shipping and vessel finance, acting mainly on behalf of private equity funds and shipowning groups.
He has worked on shipbuilding contracts, supervision agreements, charterparties, ship management agreements and sale-and-purchase transactions, as well as loan documentation, finance sale and leasebacks, IPOs and portfolio transfers.
Emily Widdrington specialises in shipping finance.
She has more than 12 years’ experience in advising and acting for banks and shipowners on loan and security documentation.
