Rachel Trinder has worked as an aviation and aerospace advocate and consultant in Washington for more than thirty years, advising airports, air carriers, helicopter operators, financial institutions, manufacturers, suppliers and other entities on an extensive range of domestic and international aviation and aerospace matters. 

Rachel has in-depth experience in regulatory matters and government affairs representation before the various agencies that oversee aviation and space issues, including the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Departments of State, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security (including Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration), Defense, the National Transportation Safety Board and NASA.  She has extensive experience in airport and airline operational and technical issues, air carrier and aircraft certification and registration, foreign carrier service to the U.S., the negotiation and interpretation of aviation bilateral and multilateral agreements, transactions and financing, citizenship issues applicable to aviation entities and transactions, airport funding and grant assurances-including letters of intent and AIP funding-aviation safety and security matters, FAA Part 13 and 16 cases, export licensing and International Traffic in Arms Regulations, antitrust/ antitrust immunity, noise mitigation, air navigation hazards, passenger facility charges,  intellectual property matters, licensing agreements, International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) compliance, air service development, government contracts issues, route selection proceedings, hazardous materials transportation issues, airport concession contracts, airport security plans, passenger and cargo arrivals/shipment processing (including CBP Model Ports issues), aircraft rescue and firefighting standards, alternative minimum taxes applicable to airport bonds, environmental impact statements, airport/airline/tenant agreements, space launch issues, lease documentation, airport privatization, aviation marketing, and numerous other aviation and aerospace matters.  For many years she has advised one of the world’s largest airport systems. 

Rachel also has extensive legislative experience, advising clients on congressional relations, developing federal agenda action strategies, securing federal grants and financial assistance, advising on legislative policy, bill drafting and passage, and testimony before congressional committees.  She is a registered lobbyist and enjoys the highest rating - AV® Preeminent - from Martindale-Hubbell’s “pinnacle in excellence” peer review rating process.  Rachel also is rated as one of the World’s Leading Women in Business Law, and by the American Bar Association in The International Who’s Who of Aviation Lawyers as one of the world’s leaders in the field.

Rachel also has an extensive background in appellate advocacy and business dispute resolution and litigation.  She has advised several countries and foreign government agencies in connection with the negotiation of international agreements, compliance with international law requirements, and dispute resolution.  She also provides aviation and space consulting services as Executive Vice President of Farragut International, L.L.C., the firm's wholly-owned consulting affiliate, advising on marketing, new carrier service development, airport management and operations, aviation infrastructure and safety issues, and space launch matters. 

Born in Africa and educated in the U.K. and the U.S., Rachel is active in the Washington aviation and legal community. She served on the Board of Governors of the Aero Club of Washington from 1993-2007 and as the Club’s President in 2000.  She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Aeronautic Association and was President of the International Aviation Club in 1986 and a member of its Board of Directors for several years.  She also has served as Chairman of the Federal Bar Association Section on International Law, and Chairman of the Space Law Committee.  Rachel also is a member of the National Transportation Bar Association and is involved in various other legal and business groups such as the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, the Australia-American Association, the British American Business Association and the Paris-based International Institute of Space Law.  She served for several years on the Board of the International Institute of Air & Space Law in the Netherlands, and as a Board member of the publicly traded (NYSE) Avemco Corporation, one of the world’s largest insurers of general aviation aircraft.

Among her awards are the Federal Bar Association Distinguished Service award, an English Speaking Union Fellowship, and the Harmesworth Award from the Inns of Court, London.

Rachel is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.  She is a speaker and author on a variety of aviation, space and business topics.

Rachel’s primary focus is on highly focused advocacy and problem solving.  The first step in any project is an analysis of the client’s needs and concerns, and the development of a strategy for addressing them.  The solution may be at the agency level, it may be operational, legislative, transactional, contractual or litigation-based, or it may be a combination of approaches.  After close operation with the client, she develops the strategy and implements the plan designed to achieve the optimal result.  She believes in a hands-on, personalized relationship with clients to serve their needs in a manner that best addresses their concerns and goals. 

For a printable PDF brochure, click here.

Radio Interview:

Ms. Trinder was interviewed by Sky Radio for its "America's Most Influential Women" program, which airs on Sky Radio and United Airlines radio. You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

Publications:

"Financing a Communications Satellite Venture: Assessing Regulatory Risk is Key," Satellite Finance, June 11, 1998 (with Pamela L. Meredith).

"The International Airports of the Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzen Triangle: Can They All Succeed? Annals of Air and Space Law, vol. XXI, Part I (1996).

"International Leasing of Aircraft: A Basic Introduction to the Operating Lease" in The Use of Air and Outer Space Cooperation and Competition, Kluwer (1998).

"U.S. Space Law: The Practical Implications of Recent Case Law Developments on Minimization of Litigation" in The Use of Airspace and Outer Space for all Mankind in the 21st Century, Kluwer (1995).

"Reflections on a Springtime Hungarian Rebirth," 39 Federal Bar News & Journal, 475 (1992).

"Open Skies," Note, 20 International Business Lawyer, Vol. 7, at 341 (1992).

"Dispute Resolution: A Proposal for Avoidance of Litigation in the Space Law Arena," in Air and Space Law, De Lege Ferenda (1992).

"A Perspective on the U.S. Approach to International Aviation in the Pacific," in The Highways of Air and Outer Space Law over Asia (1992).

Contributor, External Relations of the European Community, Wassenbergh (1992).

"Patents in Space: Why the New Federal Legislation is an Important Development for Both the Space Community and the Space Bar," 38 Federal Bar and News Journal, 396 (1991).

"Recent Developments in Space Law Litigation," 5 Georgetown Journal of Law &Technology, 45 (1991).

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