What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?

I have had an interesting year. I was involved in the management of Avolon’s proceedings in the Irish High Court against insurers in respect of aircraft detained in Russia following the implementation of sanctions, and the commercial resolution of the same claims, leading to the conclusion of the litigation in January 2025 and receipt by Avolon of US$177 m. of settlement proceeds.

I led a deal team in achieving the private issuance of U$850 m. of senior unsecured notes in March 2025. I managed the transition of Independent Director of the Avolon Board of Directors in May 2025. In June 2025, I accepted a secondment to Avolon’s OEM Team where I co-led the contractual negotiation of the purchase of 90 aircraft from Airbus that was announced in July. The variety of projects in a short time frame demonstrates the rich development opportunities, breadth of experience, and ability to add value across a business for an in-house counsel role.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?

Thankfully, I have had many. One of the key attributes of my role is that the work is varied and never dull. I have had the pleasure of working across a range of workstreams and projects including transformative M&A, capital markets transactions, large-scale litigation and scale aircraft purchase agreements.

One particularly unique experience was Avolon’s litigation seeking insurance cover for aircraft detained in Russia as a result of the imposition of sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The litigation was ultimately settled in January 2025. While a new experience for me, it was uncharted territory for Avolon, the industry and the Irish legal system as the proceedings were unprecedented in terms of scale and complexity and were heard in an accelerated timeline.

Managing this litigation was a balancing exercise in knowing and understanding enough to guide the business, make decisions and instruct counsel, while relying on the support and expertise of a strong and experienced external legal team. My role was to co-ordinate the many workstreams involved in complex litigation of this kind.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

A commercial mindset is key. The value of maintaining a broad perspective and understanding the commercial rationale, impact, and importance of your input should not be underestimated. While the role of in-house counsel often involves the identification of risks, it is important to position and brand the role as trusted advisor, problem solver, facilitator and not blocker. Adaptability and the ability to pivot are important, as in a company like Avolon a fast pace and rapidly shifting agenda are often key features of the role. You need to be comfortable applying your skills over a wide range of areas and taking on new challenges where you will need to get up the knowledge curve quickly.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about supporting women in business. As a parent, I understand the challenge of taking care of both your career and young family. I am excited to see greater supports for woman and initiatives to ensure women have, and feel they have, the necessary skills, confidence and support to achieve positions of leadership. In recent years, Avolon has appointed its first female Executive Committee member and two female directors to its Board. In 2022, Avolon launched a bespoke leadership development program, called Accelerate, for its emerging leaders, with a particular emphasis on developing Avolon’s female leadership pipeline, a program I am very proud to have been a part of.