Flying cars, blueprints for the sky and space vehicles are all in a day’s work for Airbus Silicon Valley, aka A³, associate general counsel Robert Keele. It’s his first in-house position, but Keele’s already prepared for takeoff, doing the behind-the-scenes legal work necessary to produce the transportation technology of the future.

Keele joined A³ after a stint as an IP attorney at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where he worked as outside counsel for the company. Before that, he spent two years as an IP and antitrust attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and another two clerking for Kimberly Jo Mueller, a judge for the Sacramento Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Keele earned his JD from New York University School of Law.