Lesley Jane Smith

Treasurer

Prof. Dr Lesley Jane Smith, Solicitor and partner of the Bremen law firm, Weber-Steinhaus & Smith, was born and educated in Scotland. On account of her services in facilitating business and networks towards to Scotland, she was appointed a Global Scot in 2007. Her professional work has over time taken her to various parts of Europe, including the former Soviet Union; as a result, she has gained firsthand experience in various aspects of commercial law and practice. She lives in Bremen, Germany.

In 1996, Professor Smith was appointed to Leuphana University of Lüneburg, where she continues to work as a professor of International and European Economic Law. She was seconded for various periods during this time to work on new bilateral German-Dutch law programmes (Hanse Law School), thereafter spending some time in Riga, Latvia as Rector of the Graduate School of European and International law.

Her main research interest is in commercial space law. Prior to this appointment, she worked for a long period as a research assistant and senior lecturer to the University of Bremen Centre for European law and Policy. Prof. Smith also acts as guest lecturer on various international law programmes, including the International Space University (ISU). She has worked for both institutional and private legal services in Europe (UK trained and qualified, private practice in France and Germany). Dr Smith‘s original legal expertise is in the field of international commercial contracts and conflict of laws, and latterly includes civil law reform work in transformation states (former Soviet republics).

Her current research focuses on the growing interface between business and space law, notably competition and procurement law and intellectual property law. She is an active member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), the European Centre of Space Law (ECSL) and a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). She co-authors the subject of liability for space activities in the Cologne Commentary on Space Law and her book, ‘Contracting in Space – Overview of the European Space Sector’ was published the summer of 2011 (Ashgate, ISBN 978-1-4094-1923-5).

Now in her mid-fifties, she has been married to Dr Dietrich Weber-Steinhaus for a period of almost thirty years, and they have three adult children.

Current position: Partner and solicitor of Weber-Steinhaus & Smith

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