When an aircraft incident makes the news, the investigators arrive first.
The lawyers are usually already there. Aviation law is one of the most specialised legal disciplines in the world. It covers accidents and liability, airspace rights, aircraft financing, regulatory compliance, insurance, and international treaty obligations that span every jurisdiction an aircraft crosses.
A single incident can generate litigation across three continents and six legal systems simultaneously. The aircraft may be registered in one country, leased by a company in another, operated by an airline in a third, and insured in a fourth. Aviation lawyers don't just know law.
They know how aircraft work, how accidents are investigated, and how regulators think. It takes years to build that knowledge.
The attorneys who have it are in very short supply.