Overview
Cáitrín McKiernan is an innovative and trusted advisor to multinationals on matters of corporate compliance, including cross-border internal investigations, multijurisdictional reviews, compliance policy development, proactive compliance counseling, and interactive training (in English and Mandarin Chinese). Clients describe Cáitrín as "outstanding," according to Global Investigations Review, which named her to the 2025 GIR Women in Investigations.
Notably, Cáitrín brings valuable in-house experience and a tech-forward approach to her practice, including with respect to the adoption of artificial intelligence tools. In 2025, she completed a 10-month, partner-level secondment to the Legal Compliance department of OpenAI. She previously spent one year seconded to a Fortune 10 technology company, where she led all of its ethics and compliance investigations across Asia Pacific.
Although Cáitrín's work has a global reach, a significant portion focuses on Greater China. A fluent Mandarin speaker and former Fulbright Scholar to China and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Taiwan, her work draws upon deep cultural knowledge, gained from engaging with the region for nearly three decades, including substantial periods living on-the-ground in Greater China.
Beyond her professional practice, Cáitrín is dedicated to fostering dialogue within the legal community. She founded and hosts The Steptoe Coffee Club for Women in Law, a monthly gathering that facilitates discussions among legal experts in a fireside chat setting before a select audience of in-house counsel. Recently, she had other Steptoe partners launched "Leading Lawyers in AI," a series of fireside chats featuring key lawyers in the field.
- California
- New York
- Hon. Jack B. Weinstein, US District Court, Eastern District of New York
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Certificate of Specialization in International Law
- B.A., Stanford University, with departmental honors in Chinese History
- Princeton in Beijing (普北班) (intensive advanced Mandarin program)
Representative Matters
- 10-month, partner-level secondment to Legal Compliance department of OpenAI during an important time in the company's growth.
- Year-long secondment leading all internal ethics and compliance investigations in Asia Pacific for a Fortune 10 technology company.
- Represented multiple US-listed companies on compliance matters and internal investigations across Asia Pacific.
- Conducted post-acquisition anti-corruption compliance due diligence of over 300 third party vendors on behalf of US-listed software company.
- Led interactive compliance training, in Mandarin Chinese, on behalf of multiple US-listed companies.
- Conducted anti-corruption compliance risk assessments for US-listed data company and a unicorn start-up and, based on findings, drafted suites of risk-based compliance policies.
News & Publications
StepTechToe
Antitrust in the Age of AI: A Four-Part Series
September 18, 2025
By: Lee Berger, Tyler Evans, Anne-Gabrielle Haie, John J. Kavanagh, Robert Klotz, Cáitrín McKiernan, Michel Paradis, Ronan Scanlan, Michael L. Weiner, Charles Whiddington
Press Releases
Global Investigations Review Names Steptoe a Top 30 International Investigations Firm
November 21, 2023
Resources
Events
Noteworthy
- GIR Women in Investigations Survey, Global Investigations Review (2025)
- The Irish Legal 100 (2023)
- Elected Term Member, Council on Foreign Relations (2017-2022)
- Climate Strategies Accelerator Fellow, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation (2016)
- “40 Under 40,” Irish Echo (2008)
- U.S. Department of State Fulbright Fellow to Fudan University (复旦大学), Shanghai, China (2004-2005)
- Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Taiwan (2004)