Where no lawyer has gone before — Why Scottish solicitors are helping to grow the space sector

Peter Ranscombe examines opportunities for lawyers within Scotland’s developing space sector – and there’s not a single flying cigar or other UFO in sight… 

ONE of the quirkier laws governing the French commune of Châteauneuf-du-Pape – famous for its wines – forbids unidentified flying objects (UFOs) from taking off from or landing in its vineyards or even flying over the village. Introduced in 1954 at the height of the Cold War’s UFO hysteria – when strange ‘flying saucers’ and ‘flying cigars’ in the sky led to fears of alien abductions – the ban is often the subject of intense speculation after a few glasses of vino.

Fortunately, Scotland’s lawyers have their feet planted firmly in reality when it comes to the rules and regulations governing our nation’s space sector. And two lawyers in particular are leading the way in exploring opportunities for solicitors in the burgeoning space industry.

Laura Edison had worked with the shareholders behind Glasgow-based rocket business Skyrora on their other projects in the wider technology industry and so she was a natural fit to become the company’s general counsel when it was launched in 2017. She went on to be named In-House Lawyer of the Year at the 2021 Scottish Legal Awards for her work with Skyrora, where she is a non-executive director. She now divides her time between Scotland and Florida’s ‘Space Coast’ while running Albalex, which is described as “a transatlantic compliance, training and RegTech consultancy”.

“Looking back at 2017, it was a great time to get involved because the sector was in its infancy, both commercially and legally,” Laura remembers. “We had all the consultation ongoing with the Space Industry Act and the associated regulations. There was a lot of regulator education happening because they were preparing to pivot from pure aerospace into actual space.

“There was a great opportunity there to be involved in shaping how that regulation would happen and building those relationships with the regulator, which are very important to us. Personally, I felt we were making a wider contribution, taking that exciting opportunity to help shape a new sector, both legally and commercially.”

Opportunities for in-house lawyers

The space sector is often split into three sections: upstream, which involves designing, building and launching equipment; midstream, which covers the operation of that equipment in space; and downstream, which handles the data coming back to Earth. Laura highlights many opportunities for in-house lawyers to work throughout that “value chain” within the space sector.

“There are the obvious places, such as the launchers and the spaceports, which need counsel,” she points out. “But there are also opportunities to get involved in the full supply chain. If you want to be in an industry that’s serving space, then you could work in house, for example, at an electronics firm, or a carbon composite manufacturer or a 3D printing firm.”

Laura adds: “Back when I was a trainee, in around 2009, the hot industry at the time was renewable energy, with lots of wind farms being constructed and lots of lawyers learning how to adapt to the new sector. Now, I think the space sector represents similar types of opportunities for lawyers who are studying or training.

“The space industry in Scotland is still small when compared to the States, but once it grows beyond the research-and-development stage into commercialisation we’re going to see even more opportunities. I notice that the universities are adding more and more space-related content to their curricula, which is very exciting. It is also interesting to note that so many of the law firms are also expanding their commercial practices to include space as a standalone sector.”

Expanding work for private practices

Those opportunities in private practice have been shaped in part by another legal star in the Scottish space sector. After returning to Scotland from London, Naomi Pryde, Head of Litigation and Regulatory for Scotland at DLA Piper, became a co‑founder and global co‑chair of the firm’s Space Exploration and Innovation team. “My work spans both private- and public‑sector mandates, including acting on nationally significant space infrastructure projects – for example, I successfully resisted the judicial review challenge brought against the proposed Sutherland spaceport,” she explains.

“I was already acting for a number of space clients based in Scotland, including Glasgow‑based Earth observation company Space Aye. However, what quickly became clear was that space didn’t sit neatly within any single sector. When I looked across the global firm, I saw sophisticated space and space-adjacent work happening in pockets everywhere. I wanted to create a group that could bring everyone together.”

She adds: “Space is a distinctive sector because it cuts across so many others – from advanced manufacturing and technology through to life sciences, with clients exploring the impact of microgravity on manufacturing and biotechnology. Once we joined the dots, it quickly became clear that bringing together colleagues with experience and interest in the sector could only strengthen our offering for clients.

“Today, we have a very active space team, which works across more than 90 offices across over 40 countries. It’s one of the great privileges of my career to co-lead DLA’s space group alongside my global co-chair, Julie Kearney.”

That diversity leads Naomi to believe that Scottish lawyers are well placed to benefit from the growth of the space sector, which is covered by the same regulatory regime across all three of the UK’s jurisdictions. “I’m proud to be qualified to practice as a solicitor in all three jurisdictions – Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland – as well as in the Republic of Ireland,” says Naomi.

“In Scotland, we tend to have broader specialisms and work across more sectors, whereas in other jurisdictions, such as London, people tend to be more specialised. It is great to work in an area where Scotland is recognised as a sector hub.”

As a member of the Scottish Government’s Global Scot programme, Naomi’s practice has a distinctly international focus. “There is also room for Scotland to shape the rules and not just follow them,” she adds. “There’s an opportunity for Scotland to be a frontrunner in helping to shape the way in which governments form regulations covering areas like space cybersecurity.”