NASSAU, Bahamas — Aviation Law specialist Llewellyn Boyer-Cartwright, a 29-year veteran of the aviation industry and senior associate at Callenders & Co., is among 25 lawyers worldwide invited to attend a meeting in Washington, DC May 22 dealing with aircraft leasing and the mushrooming demand for specialized aircraft financing.

“It’s an honour to be one of only 25 attorneys selected to attend and participate in the Legal Aspects of Aircraft Leasing & Financing,” said Cartwright.

In February, Cartwright became the first Bahamian to be admitted to the Lawyer Pilots Bar Association, an international organisation dedicated to airline and aircraft safety and legal issues surrounding the aviation industry. That appointment came just weeks after he and Callenders & Co. Senior Partner Colin Callender called for the creation of a Bahamas Aircraft Registry.

The campaign for a national registry for a growing international industry is a natural progression for the country’s oldest law firm whose lead attorneys have been involved in nearly every major facet of financial services development — and it makes sense that Cartwright, a commercial pilot with more than 7,500 hours crisscrossing the Americas before starting to practice law in 1994, would lead the charge.

“The private, charter and leasing segments of the airline industry are growing phenomenally. Even the most challenging economy could not dampen the fervor of such growth and all signals point toward continued growth,” said Cartwright. “The more obstacles that are put in the way of the average traveler to improve security, the greater the growth is going to be of executive jet service and the accompanying business of private FBO’s (Fixed Base Operations). For the business traveler or the high net worth individual, it’s all about saving time, cutting the wait for an international flight from two to three hours sitting around an airport to a matter of minutes, walking up to a plane and boarding, and same at the other end with almost instant disembarking.”

Feeding that growing trend is opening up new avenues for commerce.
“The projected continued growth is dependent upon adequate funding vehicles and all the legal parameters,” Cartwright said. “It’s very exciting to be on the cutting edge of this emerging industry and to be invited to help shape its future.”

The Washington meeting under the auspices of the Legal Aviation Workshop program follows two others in London and Dubai and is hosted by the well-known law firm of Cozen O’Connor.

This is an excerpt from Bahama Islands Info as it appeared on May 2, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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