Teresa Hitchcock is UK head of Safety Health and Environment (SHE) within the Regulatory and Government Affairs group.

Before qualifying as a solicitor, she worked as a senior environmental and health and safety regulator in local government, and thereby acquired extensive practical experience of regulation in these areas.

Based in DLA Piper's Sheffield office, Teresa subsequently built up the practice of what is now the national SHE team. This is a broad-ranging practice which covers all areas of environmental, health and safety, product safety and food safety law, and has recently expanded its remit to cover regulatory aspects of healthcare.

Teresa has a very wide range of clients. While there is a particular focus on large and medium-sized concerns in heavy industry, she also has a number of small businesses, nonprofit organisations and local authorities as clients. Key areas of her recent practice have included regeneration projects, climate change law, the impact of Conservation Law on industrial operations, and a number of major health and safety investigations.

Teresa is a well-known speaker at national and international conferences on environmental and health and safety compliance.

She also has strong connections with local business in the Sheffield area. For many years she has been a leading figure in the South Yorkshire Green Business Club, an organisation which enables smaller businesses in the area to benefit from the expertise of larger businesses, regulators and the academic community and improve their contribution to sustainable development. Teresa was recently appointed a Board Member for Sheffield First for Environment, the local partnership established by Sheffield City Council to champion environmental issues in the area.

Teresa is described in Legal 500 2011 as ‘excellent’ and ‘extremely knowledgeable’ who 'understands issues, and is very experienced and responsive.'

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