The Lawyer has recognised Gavin Kealey KC as one of its Hot 100 for 2026.
According to The Lawyer:
“No one knows the insurance or aviation markets better than 7KBW’s Gavin Kealey KC, so when a multibillion-dollar case relating to the Russian aviation industry headed to the courts in 2024, it was a no-brainer that he’d be involved. It was also a no-brainer that, when the case finally concluded at the start of 2025, he would win.
“The so-called mega-trial featured a stellar cast of expert counsel acting for a variety of aircraft-leasing companies and their insurers; as counsel for the biggest lessor’s biggest insurer, Kealey’s job was arguably the hardest. Instructed by AIG — the representative insurer in the case — he had to convince the court that his client wasn’t liable to cover the losses incurred by AerCap as a result of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“International sanctions meant all the planes AerCap leased to Russian airlines were stuck in the country and so were effectively lost. AerCap and the other lessors involved in the case attempted to recoup their losses via policies held with AIG and other all-risks insurers, but Kealey argued that their war-risks insurers should actually be on the hook.
“It is a mark of both his mastery of the subject area and his skill as an advocate that he was successful, with the win also reducing the amount AerCap was able to recover from $3.6bn to $1.2bn.”
