Matthieu de Varax, Odi-sé Avocats
Matthieu de Varax is one of France's most respected business jet lawyers advising some of the world's most active corporate aircraft financiers.
LEADING LAWYER DIRECTORY – Matthieu de Varax, Odi-sé Avocats
Matthieu de Varax is one of France’s most respected business jet lawyers advising buyers, manufacturers, owners and many of the world’s most active corporate aircraft financiers. In October 2017 he launched his own firm dedicated to aviation law.
Partner
Paris
+331 79 35 07 50
Matthieu’s advice
“Business aviation has its own standards and customs and in many ways differs from commercial aviation. I would strongly recommend selecting a lawyer with in depth experience and understanding of this industry. Replicating structures and documents used in commercial aviation does not work. In business aviation, perhaps more than in any other industry, one needs to be pragmatic and to understand the parties’ objectives. Lawyers should avoid addressing difficult commercial issues with unnecessarily complex drafting. My motto always tends to be: “Keep it simple!”
“Buyers of corporate jets are often self made successful entrepreneurs who sometimes have strong views on things. Some of their requirements may appear awkward or difficult to match but lawyers should listen and try to address these concerns with the best interests of both parties in mind. “No, this is not even worth discussing” or “this is off market” is not always the right answer. Patience is the first quality that you would expect from a business aviation lawyer!”
Background
“Having started my career as a generalist lawyer, practicing commercial and corporate law, I felt that asset finance offered a more challenging experience as a lawyer, often calling for complex financing and security structures. Aviation, and aircraft finance in particular, presented that kind of challenge and I was drawn to and enjoyed the cross border nature of this area.”
Official biography
Matthieu has over 20 years of experience representing airlines, arranging banks, operating lessors and manufacturers on all aspects of the aviation industry, including: the acquisition, leasing and financing of aircraft; the negotiation of maintenance agreements; litigation in connection with liability claims or the repossession of aircraft; and regulatory issues. He has, for many years, focused his practice on business aviation where he has a wide experience of advising buyers, manufacturers and lenders on the acquisition and financing of business jets on all continents. Matthieu has acted on the delivery and financing of a wide range of aircraft types, from very light jets to VIP configured airliners for a variety of end users, including high net worth individuals, corporate entities and heads of State.
Matthieu de Varax is listed by Who’s Who of Business Lawyers for aviation and is recommended by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for aviation finance.
