Onside Law LLP

Corporate, Commercial and Corporate Governance

Harriet Leach is a Legal Director and Head of Women’s Football. Harriet is a senior corporate and commercial lawyer and is building a fierce reputation as a leading lawyer within women’s sport. Recent highlights include advising:

• England Netball on investment opportunities and all aspects of the launch of Netball Super League 2.0, including participation terms, governance, regulation and player matters;
• The ECB on potential investment in The Hundred, including corporate structuring and preliminary advice;
• World Rugby on its joint venture with Major League Rugby (MLR) in connection with the operation and governance of the Hawks, a new franchise competing in the MLR;
• Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) a new client on a range of commercial and regulatory matters, including commercial agreements and its remuneration cap;
• The ECB on the funding, operation and structuring of the pro women’s cricket, including the tender and documentation for “Project Darwin”;
• Six Nations Rugby on corporate structuring and preliminary advice in connection with the Nations Cup, a new international rugby competition to be owned and operated with SANZAAR.
• More Than Equal a new client on its inaugural driver development programme which aims to find and develop the first female F1 world champion;
• Several Women’s Championship football clubs, including Lewes F.C. on corporate structuring and investment plans and London City Lionesses on various player transfers, employment and data protection matters.

Harriet hosted another event in her popular New Era Series for Women’s Sport series in partnership with DAZN, moderating a panel featuring Kelly Simmons OBE, Beth Barrett-Wild (ECB), Belinda Moore (PWR) and Anmol Malhotra (Snap Inc) in front of 150 participants to discover what it takes to operate an elite women’s sport league/competition as more turn professional and implement new corporate structures.

Harriet won the  award for “Contribution of Regulation/Services in Women’s Sport” at the Everything in Sport 2023 Awards.

Harriet also speaks and writes regularly on topical issues within sport, including recently moderating a panel on “Governing the Game: The urgent need for reform” at Women in Football’s sold out Be Inspired Conference at Wembley and on Women’s Football at Law in Sport’s Football Law Conference 2023. Harriet co-authored the Chambers and Partners’ Guide for Sports Law 2021-2023.

Harriet leads the firm’s partnership with Women In Football accelerating Onside Law’s ED&I ambitions.

2017 – Present: Legal Director and Head of Women’s Football – Onside Law

2021 – 2022: Director of Legal (Secondment) – World Sailing

2021 – 2021: Senior Legal Counsel (Secondment) – WRU

2009 – 2017: DLA Piper - Associate

English

2003 – 2007: Northumbria University (Law Exempting (LLB))

Independent Non-Executive Director / Chair and Member of IAG (Oxfordshire FA)