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Priya Aiyar is general counsel at American Airlines. Like many in-house counsel she was tested by the pandemic in ways that seemed unfathomable when she took the job i 2019. But her performance at the legendary air carrier has brought praise from all quarters in the business world.
“She is unlike any other lawyer who has ever worked in the airline industry,” one colleague said of her.
Mark Curriden, founder of The Texas Lawbook, talked to her at length about the obstacles she faced and the challenges still ahead of her. Here is a portion of that conversation.
To read Mark Curriden’s full feature profile of Priya Aiyar, Click Here.
Texas Lawbook: AA and all airlines have experienced a challenging year. What was your role involving AA’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and what were the biggest pandemic-related challenges for you?
Priya Aiyar: The legal team and I have been involved in almost every aspect of AA’s response to the pandemic, whether it’s advising on protocols to minimize the risk of infection for our team members and customers, to developing contact-tracing programs across our network, to maintaining privacy while handling medical information, to complying with the innumerable and constantly changing federal, state, local and international orders affecting our operations. As described above, we’ve also been very involved in strengthening the company’s financial position to enable it to weather the pandemic. The biggest challenges, as described above, have been navigating all these new legal issues while also going through a reduction in [work]force, and in keeping our incredibly hard-working team motivated and connected within the constraints of the pandemic.
Texas Lawbook: What are the most important factors for you in choosing outside counsel?
Aiyar: The most important factors are expertise, experience and judgment. We are lucky to work with outside counsel who know our business well and are focused on giving us practical, implementable advice.
Texas Lawbook: How important is diversity in your selection of outside counsel?
Aiyar: Diversity is very important. We expect our outside law firms to share our commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the legal profession and we collect data from them that enables us to monitor their progress in recruiting, promoting and retaining diverse lawyers. We also have sought to partner with our law firms on diversity-related initiatives, providing opportunities and exposure for diverse lawyers both at AA and at the firms.
Texas Lawbook: Any advice for outside counsel wanting to work with you?
Aiyar: I appreciate it when outside counseltakes the time to understand how our business works and gives us practical advice on solving problems. I don’t need to receive any more blast emails.
Texas Lawbook: Are you involved in any pro bono or public service projects?
Aiyar: Yes. One of my goals when I got to AA was to reinvigorate the department’s pro bono program. Last year we launched a new pro bono project in partnership with New Friends New Life, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women and girls affected by human trafficking in the Dallas area. Victims of trafficking often have arrests and criminal offenses in their records that can prevent them from obtaining employment, housing and social services. We partnered with one of our law firms (Jones Day) to represent 19 women in this situation in getting criminal offenses expunged from their records. We are continuing and hoping to expand our work with New Friends New Life this year.
I was also involved in pro bono work at my prior law firm, including litigation challenging the Trump administration’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that culminated in a victory in the Supreme Court.
Texas Lawbook: Are there any fun travel perks for being the GC at AA? Free trips/upgrades?
Aiyar: Yes. Employees at AA get flight privileges, which is a fantastic perk of working here.