Mr. Hofer has been selected as one of Southern California’s “Super Lawyers” every year since 2009 and has been described in the Los Angeles Daily Journal as “aviation attorney to the stars.” He has an “A list” of Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning clients. He has represented many of Hollywood’s most prominent actors, actresses, producers, directors and studio executives, as well as internationally known recording artists and professional athletes, in connection with the ownership and operation of aircraft. His clients also include several of Southern California’s largest air charter companies.
A 1980 graduate of Northwestern University Law School in Chicago, Mr. Hofer was winner of the school’s coveted Lowden-Wigmore Award for Outstanding Published Legal Writing. From 1980 to 1984, he was associated with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which was then the world’s fifth largest law firm. After taking a leave of absence to work for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, he joined American Golf Corporation as vice president and general counsel. During his years at AGC, he represented the company in the acquisition of more than 200 golf courses and country clubs. He served as a partner and chair of the Bailey & Partners corporate and transactional department from 1997 until he founded Aerlex in 2005.
Mr. Hofer holds an A-V peer rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating given to attorneys for both legal ability and ethical standards. He is ranked by Chambers & Partners as one of the premier aviation attorneys worldwide. Mr. Hofer was selected by Southern California Super Lawyers as one of the top attorneys in the Southern California region every year from 2010 through 2017. He is an active member of the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) Tax Committee and served as Chairman of NBAA’s 2011 Tax Seminar. He is also a member of NBAA’s Regulatory Issues Advisory Group (RIAG) and has written numerous articles for NBAA’s website on tax and regulatory matters. Mr. Hofer serves on the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Finance and Leasing Committee. He has spoken on legal topics to various organizations, including the National Air Transportation Association, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, HAI and NBAA. He has been quoted in such publications as Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Flying magazine, Travel and Leisure, The American Lawyer, Wealth, California CEO magazine, California Law Business, the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Mr. Hofer is a former member of the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the Museum of Flying and the Santa Monica Symphony and served three terms as president of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Business and Professional Committee. His biography has appeared in multiple editions of Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Law. He is also an avid amateur genealogist and can trace his roots to the settlers of Jamestown, the first English colony in the New World, and 13 Patriot Ancestors who fought in the American Revolution. He is a member of 10 different hereditary societies, including the Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Society of Colonial Wars, Society of the War of 1812, Order of Indian Wars of the United States, Order of the Second World War, the Jamestowne Society, Order of the Descendants of Ancient Planters, National Society of Sons of the American Colonists and the Society of Indiana Pioneers.
