Background

Professor Elsbeth Magilton is the Director of Externships and a Resident Lecturer at the University of Nebraska College of Law. In September 2022 she was appointed to her position as the Director of Externships at Nebraska Law, following her success developing practical experiences and placements for students in the Space, Cyber, and National Security Law program. As the externship program’s inaugural Director she developed a new experiential learning curriculum from the ground-up for law students in field placements outside the college, and teaches the general externship courses. Elsbeth is a member of the American Association of Law Schools Externship Committee, where she is nominated to serve as the 2026-2028 co-chair and presently serves as the co-chair of the Scholarship subcommittee.

In 2025 she was awarded an Emerging Leader Award by the American Association of Law Schools Externship Committee. She founded and runs a summer ‘externship virtual writers workshop’ for clinical and externship faculty across the country, aiming to grow the amount and depth of legal education and pedagogical scholarship in the clinical and externship fields. She is also a member of the Clinical Legal Education Association and their Externship Committee.

Magilton is an accomplished public speaker and speaking coach. She was a 2023 TEDx speaker and her talk has received over 20,000 views on YouTube. She has keynoted multiple conferences, spoke at SXSW in 2021, and speaks internationally on space topics and legal education. She developed and teaches Nebraska Law’s ‘Public Speaking for Attorneys’ course, sharing her passion for public speaking and the use of storytelling for impactful advocacy.

Her textbook, “A Practical Guide to Public Speaking, Laughing Through Fear to Find Your Professional Voice” is being published by Cognella Academic Press in late spring 2027.

From 2012-2024 Elsbeth served as the Executive Director of the Space, Cyber, and National Security Law Program, and she continues to teach U.S. Commercial Space Law and Policy and publish on space and security issues.

In 2026 Elsbeth was awarded the Nebraska Honors Innovative Teaching Award from the University of Nebraska Center for Transformative Teaching award for the course, ‘Space Odyssey: Surveying the Past, Present, and Future of Outer Space,’ nominated by students in course. Elsbeth was a 2023-2024 Scowcroft National Security Fellow at the Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense in the U.S. Air Force Academy. She is a member of the International Institute of Space Law, the American Bar Association Air and Space Forum, and previously the American Society of International Law, where she served as the co-chair (2020-2021) for the Space Law Interest Group. In September 2018 Elsbeth’s team received a major NASA Space Law pilot-program grant to create a nationwide network of students, faculty, and practitioners interested in space law and policy. Sparking her interest in supporting aspiring attorneys in developing professional, speaking, and self-leadership skills.

Magilton was an active part of the U.S. State Department Speaker’s Program under the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Under that program in 2019 she visited the Digital Learning Hub and Women In Digital Empowerment groups in Luxembourg, discussing experiential education and workforce development. She also facilitated a roundtable discussion for the UzSpace agency and the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent on Uzbekistan’s commercial and governmental space interests in 2021, providing series of lectures for the New Zealand and Australian Space Council on behalf of the U.S. Consulate in Auckland, New Zealand. She also served as a member of the Legal Expert Pool for the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.

In 2021 Elsbeth was nominated finalist for two Inspire Lincoln Awards in the Education and Large Business Categories. Run by the Lincoln Journal Star these community awards recognize women leaders and the impact they are making in the community. In 2024 she was again a finalist for the award in the Education category.

Elsbeth received her B.A., cum laude, from Doane University in 2008. After starting her career in web development, Elsbeth shifted into technology policy during law school. She earned her J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law and received a concentration in Cyberlaw. During law school Elsbeth also attended the William and Mary College of Law, working with the Center for Legal and Court Technology.

Elsbeth’s other passion is her community. In 2022 Elsbeth was named a “NExt Pioneer” fellow with the Nebraska Tech Collaborative – a workforce initiative examining tech talent retention in the Midwest. She previously served (2021-2023) as the board president for Girls Code Lincoln, a nonprofit organization striving to ignite passion for technology and leadership in 4th-9th grade students, where she still volunteers. Elsbeth was a Girl Scout volunteer and Troop Co-Leader from 2020-2024 – leading her scouts (including her daughter) from kindergarten to 5th grade. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Lincoln Fencing Club, where her son is a competitive fencer.

Completing her yoga teacher (200 hour) certification in spring 2027, Elsbeth brings reflective practice themed yoga sessions to the College of Law as well as legal education conferences. She practices with studios around Nebraska and loves to teach law students, lawyers, and professionals how to add gentle movement into their reflective practice.

Personally, Elsbeth is an artist at heart. She enjoys being a parent to two amazing humans, drawing, reading a lot of fantasy, scifi and fiction, traveling across the U.S. and the world, and video games. She says every tattoo she gets is her last one, but has an almost completed a 3/4 sleeve among several back and stomach pieces.

Elsbeth is married to a concert and event chef, Morgan Magilton, who has fed musicians and athletes around the country. Together, they’re almost always up for live music anytime, anywhere!

If you or your group is seeking a speaker on space law and policy, experiential education, Women in STEM, or any related topic please contact Elsbeth through the University of Nebraska College of Law.