HFW Continues Global Aviation Finance, Australia Growth With Sydney Special Counsel Hire

Global sector-focused law firm HFW has further strengthened its leading global aviation finance and leasing practice and continued the growth of its Australia business with the hire of John Canning as a Special Counsel in Sydney.

John is an aviation and asset finance specialist with more than 30 years’ experience working in Sydney, London, and Hong Kong. He practices Australian and Hong Kong law and is also admitted to practice law in England and Wales. John and spent more than 23 years as a partner at King & Wood Mallesons before joining HFW.

HFW has been in Australia for almost 20 years and is one of the fastest growing law firms in the country. The firm has added thirteen new partners across its offices in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney since the beginning of FY24, including a major corporate, projects, and regulatory team in Perth, a corporate restructuring, insolvency and commercial litigation team in Melbourne, and a construction disputes and international arbitration partner in Perth. HFW’s Australia revenue grew by a third in FY24.

Gavin Vallely, Managing Partner Australia, HFW: “I am pleased to welcome John to the firm. Over his long career, John has earned a reputation as an exceptional practitioner – one of the best in the market. He makes a solid addition to our global aerospace practice and will work closely with our existing asset finance and leasing team to advise clients across the Asia Pacific region.”

Edward Spencer, Global Head of Aerospace, HFW: “Our global aviation finance and leasing practice has grown considerably and is now one of the largest and most experienced in the market. John is another outstanding addition to our team, who as a genuine market leader is highly regarded across the industry. He will bring considerable expertise and profile to bear for our clients.”

John primarily advises on front end transactions, but also has significant experience on major insolvency matters – including as the lead lawyer for all aviation creditors on the Virgin Australia administration.

John Canning, Special Counsel, HFW: “I’m very pleased to be joining HFW. I’ve worked with the global aerospace team on matters many times over the years and I’ve always been impressed by their ability to provide cutting-edge service to their clients and to deliver legal and commercial outcomes in an efficient and practical way.”

John’s arrival continues a period of significant expansion for HFW across its core sectors and international network.

HFW has added more than 50 new partners and teams since FY23 – equivalent to more than a quarter of its entire partnership globally – including hires in Hong Kong, Kuwait City, London, Melbourne, Paris, Perth, Piraeus, Riyadh, Singapore, and Sydney.

The firm also established a new entity in Saudi Arabia to continue the growth of its leading Middle East offering and launched an office in Shenzhen to support its clients in China’s Greater Bay Area.

HFW’s leading global aerospace practices comprises 20 Partners and around 100 lawyers in total across Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. The team advise clients throughout the industry – including more than 100 airlines around the world – on all aspects of aviation liability, dispute resolution, regulatory, finance and leasing, and business and private aviation.

HFW is currently advising the ‘all risk’ group of insurers in the US$3 billion AerCap High Court litigation – the largest aviation claim in history.