California space exploration company Moon Express made headlines in August when it received permission to launch the first private mission to the moon. Commercial space ventures do not operate in the galactic version of the wild wild west. There are plenty of regulatory hurdles to overcome. Just ask Sagi Kfir, general counsel for the asteroid-mining startup Deep Space Industries. The attorney who became a space junkie after watching Star Wars as a boy is part of a disruptive industry shaping an ever-evolving law specialty.
Does your business card say “space attorney”? No, it doesn’t. But when the subject comes up in conversations, I still get jaws dropping, whether it says it on the card or not. Some people, when I say “I’m a space attorney,” they say, “Oh, do you mean like commercial real estate space?” I say, “No, outer space,” and then just sit back and watch their jaws drop a little bit. “Does that really exist?” I say, “Yeah, that really exists.” They say, “What do you do particularly?” I say, “Well, I’m the in-house attorney for an asteroid-mining company,” and then their jaws drop down a little bit more.
