Hill Dickinson appointed honorary legal counsel for The British Air Transport Association
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International law firm Hill Dickinson has been appointed as honorary legal counsel for The British Air Transport Association (BATA).
Led by head of aviation and travel, Joanna Kolatsis, the firm will provide assistance and general legal support to the association for the benefit of its members.
BATA is the trade body for UK registered airlines and has been in existence for nearly 40 years. It works with eleven members in helping to develop and represent their views on issues of common interest to government, regulators and other agencies and also to the media. BATA’s members cover all sectors of the industry and between them carry over 138 million passengers and 1 million tonnes of cargo a year, meaning they are responsible for more than 98% of UK airline output.
Since qualification, Joanna has specialised in aviation and travel and is well known throughout the industry. Her expertise includes aviation and travel law; commercial and regulatory matters including the Package Travel Directive and ATOL compliance; aviation regulatory issues including passenger rights, EC Regulation 261 and passengers with reduced mobility; disaster and crisis management and general company commercial and contractual matters, including booking terms and conditions, website compliance, charter agreements and complaints handling. In addition, Joanna has specific expertise in crisis management and criminalisation in air and travel incidents.
Commenting on the appointment, BATA chief executive Tim Alderslade, said: “Joanna and her team at Hill Dickinson are a perfect fit for us. Working together, we can successfully navigate through the increasing number of legal challenges faced by our members.”
Joanna added: “BATA is hugely effective in its role representing and promoting the industry and so we’re thrilled to be appointed as honorary legal counsel. This latest appointment further reinforces our capabilities and reputation in the aviation sector.”
Hill Dickinson’s aviation team is ranked in The Legal 500 2016 directory where the ‘highly capable team’ is praised for providing advice in a ‘clear, commercial and practical manner.’