Employers
Space lawyers are employed by government agencies, private sector companies, and individuals (e.g., inventors, those who are involved in space-related legal disputes with an agency or company). They also lead or work for law firms that provide legal services to people and organizations. The employment site Rocket Crew says that there are nearly 80 space agencies around the world. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the oldest and best-known space agency. Other space agencies include the Canada Space Agency, China National Space Administration, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos-Russian Federal Space Agency.
Major companies include Bigelow Aerospace, Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (co-owned by Lockheed Martin, Boeing), and Virgin Galactic. Many small to midsized space technology companies also employ lawyers.
Starting Out
Some space lawyers begin their careers in general corporate law and gradually acquire an interest in and knowledge of space law. Others choose to augment their legal education with studies in space law, space policy, and/or technology fields and begin working for a space agency, a government agency that focuses on space-related issues, or an aerospace company after graduation.
Job leads can be obtained via law school career centers, by attending job fairs and other networking events, by working with a recruiting firm, by participating in aerospace-related legal fellowships, and by contacting companies and other potential employers about job openings.
- Aeronautical and Aerospace Technicians
- Aerospace Engineers
- Aerospace Medicine Physicians
- Aircraft Mechanics
- Arbitrators
- Astrobiologists
- Astrogeologists
- Astronauts
- Astronomers
- Astrophysicists
- Avionics Engineers
- Avionics Technicians
- Bail Bondsmen
- Bailiffs
- Bankruptcy Lawyers
- Biologists
- Biotechnology Patent Lawyers
- Bodyguards
- Border Patrol Agents
- Bounty Hunters
- Build Reliability Engineers
- Chemical Engineers
- Chemists
- Citizenship Reclamation Specialists
- Civil Litigation Lawyers
- Computer Programmers
- Contract Administrators
- Corporate Lawyers
- Court Interpreters and Translators
- Court Reporters
- Criminal Lawyers
- Drone Engineers
- Drone Manufacturing Workers
- Drone Pilots
- Drone Repair Technicians
- Elder Law Attorneys
- Electrical Engineering Technologists
- Electrical Engineers
- Electronics Engineering Technicians
- Electronics Engineers
- Engineers
- Environmental Lawyers
- Family Lawyers
- Flight Instructors
- Forensic Experts
- Forensic Meteorologists
- Geographic Information Systems Specialists
- Hedge Fund Lawyers
- Hypersonics Engineers
- Hypersonics Technicians
- Industrial Engineers
- Intellectual Property Lawyers
- Judges
- Laboratory Testing Technicians
- Law Librarians
- Lawyers
- Legal Nurse Consultants
- Legal Operations Specialists
- Legal Secretaries
- Litigation Support/eDiscovery Analysts
- Manufacturing Engineering Technologists
- Manufacturing Engineers
- Materials Engineers
- Mechanical Engineers
- Mergers and Acquisitions Attorneys
- Molecular and Cellular Biologists
- Mutual Fund Lawyers
- Non-Destructive Testing Specialists
- Paralegals
- Patent Agents
- Patent Lawyers
- Physicists
- Pilots
- Polygraph Examiners
- Process Servers
- Public Interest Lawyers
- Real Estate Lawyers
- Reusable Spacecraft System Designers and Engineers
- Robotics Engineers
- Robotics Technicians
- Space Habitat Designers
- Space Meteorologist
- Space Pilots
- Space Port Managers
- Space Systems Operators
- Space Tourism Managers
- Spacecraft Test Technicians
- Tax Attorneys
