Practices
Susanne Burstein is a partner in the Maritime and Transportation Group and Head of Transportation Finance Practice. Susanne specializes in finance transactions across transportation sectors with a particular focus on shipping and aviation. Susanne also has experience advising on container and intermodal deals as well as bus financings. Susanne regularly represents financial institutions, funds, borrowers, lessors and operators on cross-border asset-backed loans, restructurings, leasing transactions including sale-leasebacks, export-credit backed financings, structured products and asset acquisitions. Susanne also advises on matters of Marshall Islands and Liberian law as well as on Delaware corporate law.
Susanne received her B.A. from Tufts University and her J.D. with a Certificate of Specialization in Admiralty and Maritime Law from Tulane University. She is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey and Louisiana.
Susanne is a member of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association, New York City Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and Louisiana State Bar Association.
Susanne is ranked by Legal 500 US in their Next Generation category for her shipping finance experience. Clients note that she is “a dedicated and smart lawyer.”
Representative Experience
- Advising major French and German banks on $140 million financing to publicly traded containership lessor to finance the acquisition of twelve container vessels.
- Advising lenders on the financing to an independent European investment firm of a fleet of H135 and AW109 helicopters for use in emergency medical services across France and Spain.
- Advising major Spanish bank on Swedish ECA-backed loan to various borrowers to fund the purchase of green Scania AB buses to be operated by Transmilenio in the public transportation system of Bogota, Colombia.
- Advising major Norwegian cruise and ferry operator on financial restructuring.
- Advising syndicate of banks on financing of fishing barge capable of holding and transporting 10 million pounds of fish in super-frozen cold storage for use in salmon fishing in Alaska.
- Advising global container investment and management group as seller, servicer and sponsor on asset-backed securitization of a portfolio of 116,000 container boxes.
- Advising Greek multinational financial services company on sustainability-linked loan to Nasdaq listed shipping company specializing in dry bulk cargo shipping.
- Advising lenders on financing of 26 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft for use in sustainability-linked aviation projects, emergency medical response, search and rescue and firefighting and to be operated across Europe and Africa.
- Advising major French bank on JOLCO acquisition financing of one Boeing 777F freighter aircraft for global airfreight company, the first post-pandemic JOLCO financing for a major U.S. air carrier.
- Advising electric aircraft manufacturer on sale and lease of unmanned autonomous electric aircraft for use in aerial spraying of crops and cargo delivery.