by Zachary Zaharek

Good afternoon David! It’s been a couple of months since we’ve talked. Before we dive into our space interview, let’s provide our audience of space aficionados, space nerds, and burgeoning space attorneys a little background.

We are both space attorneys working in-house for Vast and Virgin Galactic, respectively.

Founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, Vast is developing humanity’s next-generation space stations and pioneering the path to long-term living and thriving in space. Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, is currently in development and is expected to launch NET May 2026. Vast is also developing Haven-2, the proposed successor to the International Space Station (ISS), designed to serve NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program as a micro-gravity laboratory in space. Vast’s long-term ambition is to create artificial gravity habitations that enable humans to live in space, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring a spacefaring future for all.

Virgin Galactic is an aerospace and space travel company focused on the development, manufacture, and operation of spaceships and related technologies. Virgin Galactic provides access to space for private individuals, researchers, and government agencies. Virgin Galactic’s missions include flying passengers to space, as well as flying scientific payloads and researchers to space in order to conduct experiments for scientific and educational purposes.

We met a couple of years ago, as members of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California Chapter. 2025 was a busy year for us both professionally and in our community.

This year we co-guest lectured at Pepperdine School of Law, in Space Law class, taught by M.C. Sungaila, space professor. We shared our experiences as space attorneys before a class of law students. We also appeared on a panel with Amanda Rutenberg, Deputy Counsel at Rocket Law, entitled From Earth to Orbit, Space Law in the 21st Century, which was sponsored by the Orange County World Affairs Council and held in the newly renovated Rivian Theater in iconic Laguna Beach.

Now it is time for the Orange County Lawyer readers to read a little about what is happening in your professional career since you were the 2015 Chair of the OCBA Corporate Counsel Section, coinciding with winning the prestigious OC Business Journal General Counsel Awards, Rising Star Award in November 2015.

With that background, now for our cosmic queries! Time for the audience to get to know you a little better.

Zaharek: In addition to giving back to the community by volunteering your time on all of the panel discussions mentioned above, what other big event happened in your professional career this year? How did the role open up?
Goodwin: Building on my time at Mitsubishi Electric and learning from Perry Pappous, Maria O’Leary, Pat Kennell and many others, I joined Vast in June of 2023. It’s been an amazing ride since. In January of this year, I was asked to step in as Acting General Counsel, and in March I was promoted into the full role.

What does Vast manufacture? What is its mission?
Vast is developing humanity’s next-generation space stations and pioneering the path to long-term living and thriving in space. Our focus this decade is to win the NASA Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) contract and build the successor to the International Space Station. To achieve this, we will first demonstrate our capability by building and operating the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1. We’re rapidly making progress toward it every day.

As a space lawyer, what issues do you face day to day?
As a space lawyer, and in particular a GC of a space company, it’s a lot like any other company but through a lens—and against an ever-present backdrop—of complex regulatory and compliance elements. Be that export control, licensing, government contracts, environmental, or many others specific to aerospace; they all shift the analysis of all other legal and business issues. At Vast, I am fortunate to work with a team of seasoned experts who appreciate and lean into that legal and regulatory complexity.

What do you look for from outside counsel?
Following instructions. If I ask for something a certain way, that’s what I want. I may have many reasons why that’s what I want, and I am relying on that being appreciated. And with this, communication. If what I’m asking for is not possible, tell me and we can adjust to what is possible and practical.

What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is the incredible people I get to work with internally and externally. Human Spaceflight is a relatively small community of incredibly passionate and skilled people. The moment of realizing I was having conversations with NASA astronauts about their experiences, and it’s not part of a motivational speaking event but just an average Tuesday, is when it really started to hit me.

How big is your staff? What qualities do you look for when hiring for your legal department?
The Legal Team at Vast is seven of us, and we are actively looking for a rockstar Contracts Manager to join the team. In hiring for my team, I look for approach and attitude above all else. Substantive knowledge and skills are table stakes, but the differentiator is commitment to the mission—taking ownership not only of their own projects but of the team and the company.

Do you travel for your job?
I have been fortunate to travel in this role. Some of the most interesting places have been in support of Vast at the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC). The last three years have been Baku, Azerbaijan; Milan, Italy; and Sydney, Australia.

What have been your best experiences when volunteering your time for OCBA?
My fondest memories are those early days in my time with the Corporate Counsel Section while I was at Oakley. Working with John Alpay, Christina Zabat-Fran, Wendy Peterson, Kyhm Penfil, Paul Bakota, and many others to grow the section into broader engagement and involvement. We had the good fortune to build on the shoulders of giants.

Any book recommendations?
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely and The Friction Project by Huggy Rao and Robert Sutton are both high on my list. And Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

What would you recommend for a law student to do if they want to pursue a space career?
My standing recommendation to all law students is to find a substantive area of law and get very good at that, and from that follow that into the industry you want to pursue—be that space or otherwise. There are certain substantive areas that are in high demand in the space industry–export controls, regulatory licensing, government contracts, etc., but there also is a high need for highly skilled intellectual property attorneys and employment law attorneys—especially those with an understanding of the industry and the unique challenges of the space industry in those substantive areas of law.

Where did you grow up? Did you always want to be a space attorney as a kid?
I grew up in Long Beach. I have been incredibly fortunate to truly go full circle back to my roots, with some time in San Diego and Washington, D.C. in between. I take great pride in living and working in the same city council district now, and living a few houses down the block from where my father grew up. Having grown up in Long Beach, I was always drawn to either aerospace or the port. It is incredible to be at the crossroads of both in this role and see the incredible growth of the Space Beach community in Long Beach.

What are your goals for 2026?
We are laser focused on supporting the mission for Vast and all that entails. I am privileged to have an excellent team and my goals for 2026 are focused on continuing to excel in supporting Vast as we scale at speed. In my view of things, Legal is at its best when we are a thought partner in scaling and in business functions, helping to point out potential pitfalls and opportunities—the sword and the shield—and I have the good fortune to have management and the entire team at Vast who share that perspective. I think all attorneys want to be trusted advisors, true counselors, but it is rare to have the opportunity to experience that, and I am lucky to do so with Vast.

Thank you, David, for allowing myself and the OCBA community to get to know you a little better. Have a great evening!

Zachary Zaharek JD/MBA, is Associate General Counsel with Virgin Galactic. Zaharek is Past President of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California Chapter. Zaharek has taught at University of California, Irvine Extension Program as well as at Western State College of Law. He can be reached at zachary.zaharek@virgingalactic.com.