Mr Berkery, who joins from A&L Goodbody, will remain based in Dublin while forming part of a new group based in the firm’s New York office.

Tri-qualified to practise in New York, England and Wales and Ireland, Mr Berkery previously worked at Milbank in New York and London.

He is joined in the new group by partner Niels Jensen and a team of associates including Demetria Hueth and Coral O’Connor, all of whom join from Milbank in New York.

Mr Berkery’s practice focuses on asset backed securitizations (ABS), airline and aircraft lessor restructurings, secured and unsecured lending, aircraft portfolio sales, industry-specific joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions.

Jim Fox, vice-chair of Vinson & Elkins, said: “Vinson & Elkins has decades of experience in the infrastructure, transportation and, specifically, aviation, businesses and the addition of David, Niels and their team takes us to the next level in terms of the range of services we can offer clients as they also expand into this sector.

“We see extraordinary opportunities not only in the leasing and financing space, but also in capital markets, M&A, joint ventures and restructuring – all areas where our existing talent is well-positioned to collaborate with this leading aviation group.”

Mr Berkery added: “Both Niels and I were attracted to Vinson & Elkins because we feel our practice is perfectly aligned with the firm’s strategy for client service and growth.

“This is a really interesting and exciting time for the aviation leasing and financing industry. As new debt and equity investors are attracted to the sector, consolidation and JV activity increases, ESG considerations come to the forefront and more private equity players join the large public companies and financial institutions in the space, our clients face a variety of opportunities.

“Vinson & Elkins’ full-service platform will allow us to work with exceptional colleagues in areas like capital markets, M&A, restructuring, ESG and tax, which over the long term will greatly benefit clients.”