Owning a private aircraft or a yacht can come with a multitude of challenges. While the appeal of such high-value assets lies in the exclusivity, comfort and prestige they bring, the path to ownership – and the practicalities of day-to-day management – are anything but straightforward.
From the initial negotiations and due diligence that surround a prospective purchase, to navigating the intricate legal and regulatory frameworks that govern their use, there are a number of considerations that come with a trophy purchase.
A specialist lawyer with experience operating within the world of private aviation and yachting is essential. These advisers help their clients to avoid pitfalls and fulfil their obligations throughout the lifecycle of these big-ticket items. This might include turning their attention to reviewing build contracts or sale agreements, and extending well into ownership, advising on optimal ownership structures, tax considerations, registration choices and liability management.
Explore the other rankings within the 2025 Spear’s Legal Indices:
A trusted legal adviser will often be involved in the ongoing operational aspects – insurance, crewing arrangements, chartering considerations and dispute resolution. Whether the asset is used for personal enjoyment, chartered for income, or held as part of a corporate structure, each scenario brings a unique set of considerations.
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With the right legal insight, owners can protect their investment and enjoy the lifestyle benefits these extraordinary assets provide – with fewer surprises along the way.
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- Methodology
- Best aviation and yacht lawyers: some names to know
- Best aviation and yacht lawyers: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
Best aviation and yacht lawyers: some names to know
Quentin Bargate
- Focus: Contracts, transactions and disputes
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Bargate Murray
With a background in maritime law and commercial shipping work, Quentin Bargate’s focus on superyachts developed naturally. ‘What led me into doing superyacht-related work were my clients – they bought superyachts and I followed,’ says Bargate, who founded luxury asset law firm Bargate Murray in 2004.
Bargate represents clients in arbitration and litigation and advises on purchases and construction agreements (such as a recent $200 million new-build contract) as well as taxation and cross-border issues, from crewing agreements and insurance coverage to flagging.
Read Quentin Bargate’s full profile on Spears500.com
Paul Jebely
- Focus: High-value transactions
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Sterlington
‘I’m very comfortable to lay claim to being the top private aviation attorney internationally, outside the US, who focuses on just ultra-high-net-worth individuals,’ Paul Jebely tells Spear’s.
The personable lawyer is a cross-border operator who heads up the international practice of New York-based firm Sterlington as partner and vice-chair. He advises clients – almost exclusively billionaires and leaders in their fields – on the complexities of buying, selling, financing, leasing, owning and operating private jets, as well as resolving disputes. He also handles a small amount of yacht transactions.
Read Paul Jebely’s full profile on Spears500.com
Stephen Hofer
- Focus: Celebrity clients
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Aerlex Law Group
Stephen Hofer is often called the ‘aviation attorney to the stars’. He tells Spear’s: ‘When I started this practice, I said: “One of the things that is going to distinguish us always is that we’re going to have the capability to do anything that someone in aviation needs.”’
Certainly, Aerlex, the Los-Angeles based firm which he founded in 2005, has since overseen hundreds of aircraft transactions and advised some of America’s most powerful and influential individuals on leasing, financing, operations and management, regulatory compliance and aviation-related litigation.
Read Stephen Hofer’s full profile on Spears500.com
Edouard Mousny
- Focus: Maritime transactions
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Gordon S. Blair Law Offices
Edouard Mousny is a partner at Monaco-based Gordon S. Blair Law Offices. A marine lawyer by trade, Mousny primarily advises owners in facilitating the sale, purchase, construction, registration and flagging of superyachts.
Alongside his transactional work, Mousny also sits on the board of Cluster Yachting Monaco, a collection of brokers, advisers and various stakeholders who use Monaco as their yachting hub. It is this network, and the network that arises naturally from almost three decades in the business, which has awarded Mousny many client instructions.
Read Edouard Mousny’s full profile on Spears500.com
Best aviation and yacht lawyers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles on spears500.com. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
Contact us
- To apply for inclusion in The Spear’s 500, complete our submission form.
- For further information about rankings, please email research@spearswms.com; we aim to respond to all queries within two working days.
- For commercial enquiries and questions relating to enhanced profiles, please contact Commercial Director Shady Elkholy: shady.elkholy@spearswms.com
- To keep up to date with the Spear’s 500, subscribe to our magazine, newsletter and follow Spear’s on Linkedin and Instagram.
- If you have missed calendar deadlines for our research cycles in 2025, you can still register your interest for updates about upcoming research and rankings.
- Click here to order a print copy of The Spear’s 500.
