K&L Gates Straits Law Adds Two Finance Partners in Singapore

Singapore – K&L Gates Straits Law LLC, the Singapore office of global law firm K&L Gates, welcomes Samuel Kolehmainen and Duc Nguyen as partners in the Finance practice. Kolehmainen and Nguyen join the firm’s Singapore office from Herbert Smith Freehills, where they advised on a wide range of complex cross-border financing transactions with a particular focus on aviation finance.

Kolehmainen is admitted as a solicitor in Finland and England & Wales. He has substantial finance experience, regularly advising financial institutions and borrowers on aviation finance transactions. He also acts for clients on ECA financings, operating leasing and aircraft trading, leveraging the deep industry knowledge he gained while working with an operating lessor in Dublin for two years.

Nguyen is admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and Vietnam. He regularly advises clients, which include world-leading aircraft lessors, international banks and airlines, on portfolio sale, JOLCO, JOL, PDP financing, portfolio financing and structured finance matters. Having previously worked for more than ten years with a leading aviation finance firm in London, Bangkok and Singapore, Nguyen is able to capitalize on the multijurisdictional insights he gained on behalf of clients when negotiating and structuring complex deals.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sam and Duc to the firm,” said Robert Melson, a partner in the Tokyo office and a leader of K&L Gates’ global Aviation Finance practice. “Their extensive finance and aviation industry experience enhance our award-winning asset finance team’s capabilities regionally and, more specifically, bolster our ability to assist those interested in pursuing emerging opportunities in Vietnam’s transportation sector.”

Sreenivasan Narayanan, S.C., managing partner of K&L Gates Straits Law LLC, stated: “Sam and Duc’s arrival demonstrates the firm’s on-going investment in its Asset Finance practice and its commitment to the transport sector and to supporting clients across southeast Asia and beyond. They are both very talented lawyers, and their wealth of knowledge and industry insights will complement our existing capabilities.”

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. K&L Gates’ global aviation team is now comprised of more than 20 partners and counsel who are supported by a host of associates and legal assistants. The team represents a wide variety of clients on diverse local, regional, domestic, and global matters throughout the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.