What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have recently been involved in?

In 2002, Unifi’s legal team was tasked with providing legal services for a new facility services enterprise established by our parent company following an asset acquisition. Our team was already prepared to scale in anticipation of the significant growth opportunities we knew were happening in the aviation industry. We had built a high-calibre team with the right skill sets, invested in technology to help us manage corporate and litigation matters more efficiently, and established processes to support operations while mitigating risk. Within six months, we could leverage what we had built on the aviation side to support the new facilities services business. It was a herculean effort that would never have been possible without the foundation our team built early on.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

Unifi’s values are passion, integrity, and empathy. Our legal team does not just give lip service to those corporate values; we embrace and live them out and expect our partners to do so as well. So, it is essential to us that we infuse our work – providing legal subject matter expertise – in a thoughtful way that aligns with our values.

If you have worked in other states, what are the main challenges unique to operating as an in-house counsel in your current location?

One of our unique challenges at Unifi is that we have more than 21,000 employees across 200+ sites in 50 states and are a 24/7 operation. Our locations are vast, and our needs are many. In many companies, legal is viewed as a roadblock in getting things across the finish line, but we have flipped the script on that narrative at Unifi.

Our legal team does not operate on an island – we are embedded into key workstreams across the business from day one. Our operations are constantly innovating to provide cleaner planes, safer operations, better customer experience, and more. Legal gets involved in strategies and initiatives early on, so we can provide timely, proactive advice that drives value for the business.

The unusual business environment created by the pandemic has been swiftly followed by other shocks. Are you now putting more emphasis on preparing for the unforeseen, and, if so, what does this entail?

When we entered the pandemic, no one had seen anything like it. For the aviation industry, it was especially tough and a challenge unlike any other. The whole world was navigating uncharted territory, and it was hard to know the right steps. I think we all felt that way.

At Unifi, we quickly realised that we needed to rely on the strength of our people and build an incredible team. With the right people onboard, we are prepared to analyse challenges, pivot quickly, and execute efficiently now and in the future. And I should mention our frontline employees had to do the same thing. Hats off to them because travel never stopped. It might have slowed down – but it never stopped! And Unifi, like the aviation industry, is back stronger than ever.