Watson Farley & Williams has welcome back aviation finance expert Simon Collins as a partner in Hong Kong from White & Case, where he spent 17 years.

Collins, who had a six-year stint at WFW starting in 1998, advises clients on cross-border aviation and maritime finance transactions, including asset and project finance, structured lending and restructuring, leasing, and commercial shipping transactions. Notable work includes advising Colombian airline Avianca in a Japanese operating lease with call option (JOLCO) financing.

With this addition, the number of partners at WFW’s Hong Kong office is now eight.