Team size: One

Major legal advisers: Beauchamps LLP

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected your company and the team’s priorities?

ESG has moved to centre stage of discussion in the aviation industry and there has been greater consideration of ESG factors in decision making at CityJet, whether that be investigating sustainable fuel sources, preferring fuel efficient aircraft, reducing energy consumption, promoting efficient travel practices, or investing in low- or no-carbon ventures.

What are the most significant cases and/or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

As was publicised during CityJet’s examinership in 2020, we were engaged in a $400m aircraft leasing arbitration before the LCIA with a Russian aircraft manufacturer, which was settled favourably. We are also engaged in a major tax dispute with the Irish Revenue Commissioners in relation to Ireland taxing non-resident aircrew, which is expected to conclude in 2022. Most recently, we won an appeal before the Helsinki Administrative Court in a long running Customs dispute.

In terms of transactions, in Q1 2022, we completed operating lease transactions in respect of three Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft: two with Chorus Aviation Capital and one with Falko Regional Aircraft Limited. We are also in the process of completing a move of our headquarters from Swords to Dublin Airport.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

For in-house lawyers, there will always be the need to balance the commercial desire to ‘get the deal done’ against risk which means being able to articulate what the risk is and developing processes to deal with conflicts between risk and commercial objectives. Commitment to continuous learning is important but it is easy to get distracted by workload. Thus, In-house lawyers should schedule regular reviews of legal journals and sign-up for legal updates. The Law Society issues its LawWatch on a weekly basis and most top-tier firms also issue technical updates via email.

As the way we work changes, new legal issues and challenges will arise. It is vital that in-house lawyers can identify and pre-empt such issues, insofar as that is possible. For example, in light of the recent sanctions against Russia, it is important to know where sanctions are relevant and how to run sanctions checks against existing and potential suppliers or customers.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

The ongoing development of artificial intelligence should begin to bear fruit for lawyers. Microsoft’s ‘play my emails’ on their mobile Outlook app is a basic crude example of this. I can foresee voice interaction with a virtual assistant which, for example, will suggest wording for a contract based on one’s previous drafting and habits. Similarly, the virtual assistant will maintain my diary and prioritise my work while chasing me from time to time.

During the pandemic, virtual hearings were an enforced change which worked well, for example, before the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court. There is no necessity for dozens of lawyers and clients to wait for their call-overs in a packed court room. Running call-overs online is effective and efficient and it helps reduce traffic congestion.