Leigh Hancher is skilled in European competition and regulatory law. Over the past three decades, she has worked extensively on advising a wide range of clients in regards to European energy law, European state aid law and European health law.
She advises on both institutional and substantive EU legal issues and her practice includes advising clients before the European Commission and national competition and regulatory authorities, and in arbitration proceedings. Although not a member of the Dutch Bar, as a professor of law, she has a right of audience and she has also pleaded a number of cases before the Court of Justice as counselor, most recently in state aid litigation.
Leigh has most recently advised a number of clients involved in the mid and downstream energy sectors. She currently advises on regulatory frameworks for major pipeline and electricity interconnector projects across Europe. She has also been involved in a number of cases for clients in the financial community seeking redress for cancellation of national renewable tariffs. She has counselled a number of firms on the legality of long term power purchase agreements. She has also advised major exporters of LNG into EU markets.
Dr. Hancher is a Professor of European Law at the University of Tilburg, the Netherlands, and part time Professor responsible for EU Energy Law and Policy at the Florence School of Regulation, of the EUI, Florence, Italy. She is also a Research Associate at the Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG), at the Judge Business School, Cambridge University.
She has recently been re-elected to the 'Mijnraad' - a body which advises the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs on various issues in the context of oil and gas exploration and production licensing.
Dr. Hancher held the Chair of European Public Law at the Erasmus University Rotterdam from 1990 to 1998 and the Visiting Chair of Energy Resources Law at the University of Calgary, Canada in 1996. She was previously Head of Legal Affairs at the Energy Charter Secretariat in Belgium (1998-2000).
