Joanne W. Young

Joanne Young is Managing Partner of the DC-based law firm Kirstein & Young, PLLC. She represents a wide range of clients in commercial, federal administrative, election law, antitrust and litigation matters, with special expertise in all aspects of aviation law and election integrity issues.

Clients include e.g. U.S. and foreign airlines, airports, business aviation, manufacturers, investors, state / local governments, newspapers and political candidates in commercial transactions, before U.S. Government agencies, and the courts. Representative matters include federal licensing, safety, operations, financing, enforcement/compliance, airport access/relations, IT and security, mergers and acquisitions, privacy, and environmental issues.

In 2024, Ms. Young was elected National Committee woman to the Republican National Committee (RNC) for the District of Columbia. She previously served as Vice-Chair of the DC Republican Party (2021–2024). She was Co-Chair and Vice Chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) from 2017–2021 and currently serves on its Board.

Ms. Young is listed in the International Who’s Who of Aviation Lawyers and was elected President of the International Aviation Club (IAC), the International Aviation Women’s Association (IAWA), the Washington Foreign Law Society (WFLS), and the Women’s Bar Association (WBA) of the District of Columbia. She also was elected Chair of the Regional Airline Association (RAA) – Associate Member Group, and for the US Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee.

She founded Executive Women in Aviation and served on the Board of the Women’s Bar Foundation (WBA) and the ABA Air & Space Law Forum. She currently serves on the Board of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University College of Business.

Ms. Young was named a Star of the Bar in 2015 by the Women’s Bar Association, the 2020 Republican Lawyer of the Year by the RNLA, and the 2013 Attorney of the Year by the Boy Scouts of America National Capital Area Council. Earlier she served on the DOT Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking, Subcommittee on Training and Awareness.

Ms. Young is a Member of the New York State and District of Columbia Bars and a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and Wesleyan University, where she served as a Trustee. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Young completed a judicial clerkship and worked as a trial attorney for the Civil Aeronautics Board. She spent several decades as a partner in national law firms before co-founding her present firm in 2006. She has published the Washington Aviation Summary since 1984, a monthly publication covering key developments in the global airline industry.