Lawyer Monthly Magazine - April 2020 Edition

14 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | APR 2020 LAWYER MOVES Global law firm Hogan Lovells announced that Mehtap Cevher Conti has joined the firm’s Finance practice as a partner in the New York office. Cevher Conti, who most recently was with Arnold & Porter Kay Scholer, has more than 15 years of experience in finance, particularly in the area of aviation finance. She advises banks, export credit agencies, aircraft lessors, and airlines on a broad range of transactions for airlines and corporate lessors in multiple jurisdictions. “We have been seeking to expand our finance capabilities and we are thrilled to welcome Mehtap,” said Matthew Cottis, Global Head of the Finance practice at Hogan Lovells. “We expect that she will work closely with our capital markets team in New York, as well as with our strong asset finance team in London.” Cevher Conti’s work in the commercial airline space includes secured debt, export credit agency supported transactions, sale and leaseback transactions, and aircraft portfolio acquisitions. “Globally, Hogan Lovells has a significant finance practice and extensive experience representing aircraft lessors, financiers and operators in the aviation sector,” Cevher Conti said. “I look forward to helping to expand the practice here in New York as well as in London.” The addition of Cevher Conti follows several other lateral partner moves to Hogan Lovells’ New York office in recent months, including finance partner Ben Garcia, sports transactions lawyer Michael Kuh, and Peter Marta, former global head of the legal cybersecurity team at JPMorgan Chase. “It is a pleasure to welcome Mehtap to our team,” said Michael DeLarco, Office Managing Partner for the firm’s New York office. “She has a great reputation in the financial services community and her addition aligns well with our efforts to grow in areas where our clients need us most.” Cevher Conti currently serves as the president of the 2020 board of directors of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law and on the Steering Committee of the Advancing Women in Aviation Roundtable (AWAR). She earned her JD from Boston College Law School, cum laude, and a BA from Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey, with honours. Aviation Finance Lawyer Mehtap Cevher Conti Joins Hogan Lovells in New York International law firm Ashurst is bolstering its international equity capital markets/US securities and M&A practices with the appointment of Melody He-Chen as a partner in Hong Kong. Melody joins from DLA Piper and has significant experience advising investment banks and corporations on capital markets and corporate matters in Asia and the United States. She focuses on securities offerings, advising international conglomerates and state-owned enterprises on global offerings and listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, SEC registered offerings, secondary offerings, rights issues and share placings. She also has extensive experience in bond offerings, mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, financing and compliance matters. Melody is a native Mandarin speaker qualified in both the US and Hong Kong. Asia Head of Corporate Transactions Mark Stanbridge says, “Our corporate team has had a successful year advising on many prominent transactions in the region. Melody has a leading reputation in the market and strong relationships with banks and corporations in the region. We are delighted to welcome her on board to further broaden and deepen our capabilities and develop our brand especially in the North Asian markets.” Patrick Phua, Regional Head of Asia, adds, “Melody’s appointment is a demonstration of our growth in the region and our commitment to continue the investment in Asia. She is a senior practitioner who has extensive experience in capital markets and corporate transactions. I am confident she will play a very valuable role [in] extending our offering and will provide top-rated service to our clients.” Melody comments, “Ashurst has an excellent platform and great ambitions for its Greater China practice. I am excited to be joining Ashurst to continue to drive its growth and deliver exceptional results to our clients.” Ashurst Expands Corporate Practice With Hong Kong Partner Hire