Richard Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic has hired Michelle Kley as general counsel, secretary and executive vice president of legal. 

Kley arrives at Virgin Galactic shortly after it made history by becoming the world’s first public commercial space flight company by merging in October with Social Capital Hedosophia, a public investment vehicle. Latham & Watkins and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised the two companies on the transaction.