Big law follows private sector into space race

afr.com:

One of the world’s largest law firms is launching a dedicated space law practice, as the clamour to counsel the booming exploration industry intensifies.

DLA Piper will join the likes of Mayer Brown and Hogan Lovells in establishing a global team to advise the sector on regulatory and intellectual property issues, as well as dispute resolution. It will be led by Christian Ford, a former US Department of Defence lawyer, now based in Houston.

Spurred by a sharp fall in launch costs, several space start-ups have gone public. 

The move comes just weeks after Silicon Valley firm Wilson Sonsini hired the former chief executive of Spaceflight, Curt Blake, to establish a space industry practice group and capitalise on a sector that analysts claim was worth $US546 billion ($853 billion) in 2022, largely due to a surge in private investment.

“Years ago it would take the financial capabilities [on] the scale of a sovereign to be able to really enter space,” said Frank Ryan, global co-chairman of DLA Piper, the third-largest US firm by revenues. “That’s not the case anymore.”

Spurred by a sharp fall in launch costs, several space start-ups have gone public through special purpose acquisition companies, prompting analysts at Citi to predict the industry could generate $US1 trillion in annual revenue by 2040.

However, some space stocks have lost value as competition has intensified and raising more funds has become steadily more difficult.

Private investment in the sector totalled $US8.2 billion in the first six months of 2023, more than 40 per cent lower than during the same period last year, according to Space Capital, an early-stage venture capital provider.

Companies such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have also had to