Nathan Leavitt

Nathan Leavitt is an asset finance attorney based in Holland & Knight's San Francisco office. Mr. Leavitt focuses on representing commercial aircraft lessors, and his clients include most of the top-10 largest aircraft leasing companies in the commercial aviation industry.

Trades and financings for portfolios of more than 15 aircraft are a significant part of Mr. Leavitt's practice. He has dedicated a considerable portion of his career to developing systems, procedures, technology and training that enable Holland & Knight's 30-plus aviation finance professionals who regularly work with him to rapidly and accurately negotiate and scale complex aviation transactions.

Mr. Leavitt regularly negotiates aircraft operating lease agreements with airlines for Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and ATR aircraft, as well as engines from CFM, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, International Aero Engines (IAE) and General Electric (GE), among others. He has particular experience negotiating Passenger-to-Cargo (P2F) conversions and related lease documentation. In addition, he has developed contractual architecture for complex engine swaps under leasing documentation. 

Pre-delivery payment (PDP) financing is a regular component of Mr. Leavitt's practice, whether structured with an associated sale/leaseback or as stand-alone PDP financing. He has also advised several participants in asset-backed securitization (ABS) for passenger aircraft, engines and cargo aircraft.

Servicing agreements – whether associated with ABS vehicles or for assets owned by a joint venture (JV), side-car or third-party investor – are contractual relationships on which Mr. Leavitt regularly advises both lessors and investors.

Consignment agreements for the efficient parting out of end-of-life aircraft is a further area in which Mr. Leavitt has significant experience.

Default, repossession and remedies advice for lessors faced with defaulting lessees is also a regular part of Mr. Leavitt's practice. He has designed custom repossession and remedies strategies on numerous occasions to help lessors analyze not only their contractual rights, but also the practical and business considerations concomitant with exercising remedies. Often following a default, Mr. Leavitt has negotiated restructuring agreements for lessors to forebear exercising remedies in exchange for certain assurances and other consideration from the lessee. Mr. Leavitt has coordinated involuntary repossession plans by means of temporary restraining orders (TROs), injunctions, issuance of grounding orders and exercise of deregistration powers of attorney in multiple states throughout the U.S. and multiple countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America. And when an airline files bankruptcy, whether Chapter 11, 13 or 15 in the U.S. or in another jurisdiction, he has regularly been brought in to advise on the contractual rights, U.S. Bankruptcy Code 1110 issues and Cape Town Convention rights and remedies.

Mr. Leavitt began his career with Holland & Knight's aviation finance team in San Francisco. He spent two years in the firm's New York office before relocating to England to open the firm's London office, and once established, he returned to San Francisco. Previously, Mr. Leavitt was a secondee with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) working for their Latin America and Caribbean division.