K&L Gates Straits Law, the Singapore office of global law firm K&L Gates, has added 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.
