Specialist aviation expertise

Our firm’s aviation practice is led by James Cooper, a distinguished aviation lawyer known for his litigation prowess in representing key industry participants and their insurers in Australia and the broader region.

James’s experience includes acting for airlines and their insurers in some of the most significant airline incidents impacting our region in recent times, including the loss of Malaysia Airlines flights MH370 and MH17, and the major in-flight events involving Qantas flights QF30 and QF72. As well as serious incidents, James also has considerable experience handling attritional insured airline and air operator losses, including claims for passenger injury and delay, baggage and cargo loss, and third party property damage.

Our team also regularly advises clients and their insurers in Australia’s growing general aviation market, including handling hull, injury, and fatality claims.

Importantly, in a heavily regulated industry such as aviation, our team has a keen understanding of local and international aviation laws, providing strategic counsel on compliance and commercial issues including licensing, ticketing, privacy and competition rules.

Market recognised lawyers

James’s exceptional legal acumen has earned him recognition in esteemed publications such as Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific Guide (Aviation: Liability), The Legal 500 Asia Pacific Guide (Shipping: Rising Star), and Doyle’s Guide (Aviation). His commitment to excellence and dedication to client success make him a trusted advisor in the aviation sectors. Melbourne-based team member Merinda Stewart is a Leiden University Air Law School (Netherlands) alumni, successfully defending her PhD in 2021 concerning freedom of overflight in international airspace.

The rapidly evolving technology around drones and electric aircraft is encouraging novel thinking about risk in the aviation sector, and how to balance the use of these accessible machines against traditional aviation rules. Our team is at the forefront of legal thinking on those issues, with James Cooper and Merinda Stewart being key contributing authors in the leading international legal textbook on drones “Drone Law and Policy: Global Development, Risks, Regulation and Insurance”, published in 2021.