Mary-Caitlin Ray is Counsel at Crowell & Moring LLP and a former attorney for the Federal Aviation Administration. Clients come to her for practical and strategic advice on navigating complex aviation challenges. She represents aircraft owners, operators, and manufacturers as well as investors into aviation related businesses, advising on regulatory and transactional matters. She has significant experience advising clients on the impacts of and solutions for emerging technologies in the aviation sector, including uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS or drones) and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Mary-Caitlin’s practice spans the crewed and uncrewed side of the aviation world. She has advised Fortune 500 flight departments, high net worth individuals, and manufacturers and suppliers on regulatory concerns related to the operation and production of aircraft, including complex issues related to permitted compensation, pilot licensing, operating structures such as dry leasing, timesharing and fractional ownership agreements, and emergency and Letter of Investigation response related to quality escapes and incidents. She also represents clients in the acquisition and sale of business aircraft, including cross border transactions requiring the export or import of aircraft. Mary-Caitlin counsels drone and eVTOL manufacturers, operators, and owners on all aspects of FAA regulatory compliance, including the business impacts of the evolving global regulatory framework for emerging aviation technologies.

She also advises drone manufacturers and operators on development of internal aviation-related corporate policies and best practices. Mary-Caitlin has significant experience advising investors on the regulatory implications of investment into a wide array of aviation-related businesses, including MROs, manufacturers (including eVTOL manufacturers), and businesses that own and/or operate aircraft. She has extensive experience advising on and setting up aircraft ownership structures to address complex FAA citizenship rules that apply to ownership of U.S. registered aircraft. With her knowledge of regulatory matters combined with her transactional experience, she is able to skillfully advise on and negotiate the impacts that aviation regulatory matters can have on larger transactions involving the partial or whole acquisition or sale of a business. As a former attorney in the FAA Office of the Chief Counsel, where she provided commercial and litigation risk advice on NextGen and UAS procurements, Mary-Caitlin also advises clients on FAA procurement issues, including contract negotiation and administration, the Buy American Act, novation of contracts, and compliance with the agency’s grant assurances at all levels of the contracting chain. Mary-Caitlin maintains an active pro bono practice, representing asylum seekers before the USCIS, and she is the Young Lawyer Chair of the ABA Forum on Air and Space Law.