In a display of the boldness that epitomized so much of her life, Cecile, then a new mother of a two-month-old, decided in 1962 to conquer her terror of flying by learning how to pilot a plane. As she drove to Miami’s Opa Locka airport for her first flight lesson, Cecile twice turned her car back toward home before steering the car firmly to the airport and stepping into the cockpit. Coincidentally, Cecile’s flight instructor that day, and her occasional copilot in the years to come, was also a frequent copilot for Amelia Earhart. Cecile was so thrilled with her first experience in the sky that she earned her private pilot license in under a year and went on to earn her ground-school instructor certificate. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Cecile participated in the annual Intercontinental Women’s Air Derby, the first air race in the United States only for women and more commonly known as the Powder Puff Derby. As a participant in the races, she would present letters of friendship from US presidents to their counterparts in countries across the Western Hemisphere. One of the many legends about Cecile is that at an event at the White House, Vice President Hubert Humphrey once offered Cecile a job as his personal pilot.
In 1975, at the age of 44, Cecile earned her law degree from the University of Miami’s Law School. Cecile’s love of flying led her to join the International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as the Ninety-Nines. The organization was founded in 1929 by Amelia Earhart and 98 other woman pilots to support the advancement of women in aviation. Cecile was drawn to its mission as a beacon of support, camaraderie, and advocacy for women in aviation and dedicated herself to that mission by serving as The Ninety-Nines’ general counsel for three decades. Robin Hadfield, The Ninety-Nines current president, summed it up in saying,
Cecile Hatfield’s love of aviation was not just a personal passion—it was a guiding force that led her to join The Ninety-Nines, the International Organization of Women Pilots. A true bulldog in the courtroom, she brought that same tenacity and fierce determination to her flying, excelling as a pilot and a passionate air racer, and she fought tirelessly for 30 years to protect and advance the mission of The Ninety-Nines. Her sharp legal mind, unshakable resolve, and love of flight made an indelible mark on our community, and her legacy continues to inspire all of us.
Cecile was the first woman to serve as associate general counsel for the Piper Aircraft, defending the manufacturer in product liability litigation. She went on to serve for nine years in the US Department of Justice, where she was lead counsel for the government in complex air carrier lawsuits. During her tenure representing the government, she actively and industriously worked with the FAA and the Justice Department’s Solicitor General attorneys in bringing about 1984’s landmark and oft-cited US Supreme Court case United States v. Varig, which addressed the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act. Gary Allen, who served as director of Aviation & Admiralty Litigation at the Department of Justice for 25 years, recalls,
In my mind, Cecile just always was; I can’t recall exactly when I met her, but it was likely during my time in the early ’70s as an intern and then a young whippersnapper at the FAA. She was upbeat, gracious, empathetic, and determined to perform at a level of excellence that made her gender a nonissue in an era where it could be. She moved into the private sector working for industry CEOs and finally established her own practice, continuing to champion personal excellence in general and women in aviation in particular.
Mark Dombroff practiced law with Cecile, in both government and private practice, and also knew of many of Cecile’s escapades.
I think a lot of the lawyers who were on the other side of cases that Cecile was handling made the mistake of underestimating her. She was larger than life and certainly not what they may have expected from a Department of Justice lawyer. Even better, she knew how to use that to the advantage of her client, the United States.
I seriously doubt anyone else could have gotten away with saying, “Well!! No wonder it crashed!!” when the lawyer for the estate of Frank Sinatra’s mother pointed out that the form interrogatories filed by Cecile asked about the propeller on the accident aircraft, which was a Learjet.
In 1991, Cecile established her own law practice in Miami, Florida, and she remained an active member of the legal and aviation community until her passing. In 2008, she was nominated to “Who’s Who Legal: Florida, 2008” as one of Florida’s leading practitioners in the field of aviation law. She valued and understood the importance of friendships, networking, and being generous with time and talent. Cecile was happy to be a mentor to many young women lawyers in our industry and was always quick with a “yes” to anyone who would ask for her advice about forging a career in aviation law.
Cecile was a long-time member of the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association and served as the association’s second female president in 1998–1999. Kathy Yodice recollects,
I first met Cecile at a Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association meeting, and she was larger than life to me. She would immediately attract your attention when she entered a room, and then keep your attention as she eloquently, professionally, and brilliantly commanded the business of the moment.
Cecile was the first woman to serve as Chair of the American Bar Association's Aviation and Space Law Committee, the precursor to the Forum on Air & Space Law, and she worked tirelessly as Editor of the newsletter for the ABA Forum Committee on Air & Space Law, which she did for 10 years in the 1990s. Former Forum Chair Ken Quinn recalled:
I first met Cecile when I was counselor to DOT Secretary Skinner, who was a pilot. We were alarmed at the sharp drop in GA aircraft production in the US, from 18,000 GA aircraft to 4,000 to just over 900 in 1992. Piper, Cessna, Beech, and others blamed it largely on product liability costs, driving aircraft prices up with huge insurance costs, which they said had gone up 2,000 percent to over $100,000 per plane. Some insurers were dropping out of the product liability market. So, we worked with Sen. McCain and Sen. Kassebaum, along with Cessna’s Russ Meyer and GAMA President Ed Stimpson, to push what became known as the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA). I had dinner with Cecile at Shula’s in Florida the night before my speech to her group. She was “dressed to the nines,” full of vim, vigor, and some good salty language. I was delighted to meet this glamorous and outspoken lawyer-pilot. She warned me though: “Ken, buckle your chin strap, cuz these plaintiffs’ lawyer[s] are going to come after you tomorrow.” I shrugged and didn’t take it seriously, but boy was she right. At her event, then later, when I was FAA chief counsel, at the LPBA conference in Nantucket and [Southern Methodist University] SMU’s Air Law symposium, I got yelled at, fingers pointing at me in the face: “How dare you try to cut off liability of manufacturers making defective aircraft that kill my clients!” Well, GARA passed in 1994 with a statute of repose cutting liability tails after 18 years, and it seems to have helped our industry.
When I took over as Forum Chair, Cecile was Editor-in-Chief of The Air & Space Lawyer. She promptly told me: “Ken, after your term is up, you’re gonna replace me.” She didn’t ask—she told me. She had done a wonderful job, continuing to encourage debate, discussion, and dialogue between plaintiffs’ and defendants’ counsel, with a huge smile and yet firmness. I did as I was told, and I had the great pleasure to serve as Editor-in-Chief of this publication for the next 13 years, inadequately building on her great legacy. What a wonderful woman, pilot, and lawyer. May God comfort her family and welcome her home.
Cecile was an effective and revered communicator. In addition to her service to our Forum, she served on the editorial board of the Aviation Litigation Reporter, lectured to many organizations, and published articles on aviation and litigation for the American Bar Association, Lawyer Pilots Bar Association Journal, Practicing Law Institute, SMU Journal of Air Law and Commerce, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Lloyds of London Press Aviation Symposium, the Pennsylvania and Florida bar associations, and the University of Miami School of Law.
Throughout her career, Cecile received many honors and awards. The Embry-Riddle Award for Excellence in Aviation Law, which recognizes people who embody the highest standard of excellence in aviation law, presented by Embry-Riddle’s Aviation Law and Insurance Symposium (ALIS), was named in Cecile’s honor after she was the award’s first recipient in 2009. Mr. Allen, who co-chaired Embry-Riddle’s Aviation Law and Insurance Symposium for a number of years, remembers, “Cecile was very honored by, and often participated in, the presentation of her eponymous award to recipients chosen by the ALIS Board. It meant a lot to her, the recipients, and the Board.” Cecile served as secretary, chair of the Scholarship Committee, and chair of the Advisory Board for the International Association of Women in Aviation (IAWA), and was given IAWA’s Aviation Industry Woman of Excellence Award in 2015. Former Forum Chair Renée Martin-Nagle, who received IAWA’s Women of Excellence Award in 2014 and served on its Advisory Board, recalls,
Cecile was a gracious and generous leader in the aviation community who embodied the highest standards of competence and integrity in her professional positions while also donating her “spare” time and boundless energy in service to nearly every aviation organization that represented lawyers, pilots, and women. Anyone who met her never forgot her, and anyone who collaborated with her benefitted from her professionalism, courtesy, wit, integrity, and judgement.
Before finding her passion for aviation and law, Cecile’s love of fashion and movies propelled her into a short career as a model for an Italian fashion designer and as an actress. She once starred as Miss Ziegfeld in the Ziegfeld Follies, appeared in television commercials for the Arthur Godfrey and Garry Moore shows, and even had a small role in Frank Sinatra’s 1959 movie A Hole in the Head.
Cecile will be missed by the many who knew her warm, unwavering spirit and benefited from her legal talents. Mr. Dombroff sums it up for all of us when he says, “Cecile was one of a kind, and I feel privileged to have known and practiced law with her.” And Mr. Allen leaves us with an apt closing thought that “she now rests from her efforts, which will be mirrored by all those who admired and followed her example.”