By Gwyneth K. Shaw
It doesn’t take long for recent UC Berkeley Law grads to climb the ranks and make a meaningful impact early in their wide-ranging careers. We periodically highlight standout alums who are shining across various practice areas in profiles that amplify what drew them to their current work, what they enjoy most about it, and their path to success.
For decades, space exploration was essentially a government-run sector: Whether the goal was to launch humans or cargo, for civilian or military needs, rockets were made for nations to use.
Not long before Numa Isnard LL.M. ’17 wrapped up a transformative year at UC Berkeley Law — building both a deep understanding of U.S. law and a top-notch network of global contacts — startup companies like SpaceX started breaking that mold.
Many countries, including the U.S. and Isnard’s native France, had changed their traditional policies on space research and development, also creating business opportunities for private contractors with expertise. Entrepreneurs rushed into the void, tapping venture capital funding and snapping up veteran engineers alongside younger scientists to build the space industry of the future.
Isnard, then specializing in telecommunications law at a Paris firm, saw an opportunity.
“A lot of these startups had no idea what the regulatory ecosystem was within the space industry,” he says. “It’s very heavy everywhere — a lot of things to comply with that can be very costly. So the sector had a lot of players who’d been in the industry for decades but had never negotiated any contracts or intellectual property rights, because they were in another part of the business.”
To fill that gap, Isnard launched Spaceadvocat, billed as “the law firm for all humankind,” in 2021.
“With this new influx of new ventures, there were new players, and they weren’t from the space sector. They had other ways of thinking when they negotiated contracts,” he says. “I went to see some of these people, the old subcontractors at the new startups, and told them, ‘You should think about having a legal counsel who is actually dedicated to the space industry.’
“When I named the firm, I wanted it to be very clear who we are and what we’re doing: We are a space industry player that provides legal services.”
In the firm’s first year, Isnard won the European Legal Award in Space Law, a feat he repeated the following year. And as his firm heads for the stratosphere, his UC Berkeley Law experience and network are fueling the flight.
“In my firm, it’s a huge asset,” he says. “Because of my understanding of the U.S. legal system, I can talk in an easier way with my U.S. colleagues. When we have a transatlantic deal, which is very common in the space industry, I always feel my U.S. counterpart is more at ease when they know that I’ve got a Berkeley background.”
When clients do a multijurisdictional deal call and want Isnard’s take on what’s happening in Africa, Asia, or South America, he just taps into his UC Berkeley Law directory and finds a friend or classmate to ask.
For Isnard, who dreamed of studying at Berkeley after a brief visit on vacation, his LL.M. experience was the perfect recipe for success.
“Thanks to Berkeley, I had this amazing exposure to U.S. law, and this network ready to work,” he says.