Lena Sandberg is a partner based in the Brussels office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and is a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. She is Danish qualified lawyer and has held positions both in the private sector (law firms and companies) and in the public sector (the European Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority).

Ms. Sandberg’s work experience covers all aspects of competition law but she has a particular expertise in State aid with which has worked more than 25 years both in the private and the public sector. She has covered all aspects on State aid ranging from aid granted through complex corporate tax benefits and various types of energy and environmental protection funding measures (including for renewables, fossil fuels, capacity mechanisms (typically gas fired power plants), emission trading certificates) to funding measures for broadband, R&D, risk capital and a broad range of large cross boarder infrastructure projects under the IPCEI guidelines. Ms Sandberg conducts a vast number of complaint cases before the European Commission and litigates a long list of cases before the European Courts. She also has extensive regulatory experience in the energy and environmental sectors, including gas, renewables, electricity production and transmission, carbon emission reduction schemes and hydrogen.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ms. Sandberg worked for one year at the European Commission in the State aid department and 7 years in the Competition and State Aid Directorate at the EFTA Surveillance Authority (i.e., the sister organisation to the European Commission) where she covered complex State aid questions including in the energy and environmental area particularly in the field of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, renewable energy, energy taxes, electricity supply, carbon capture, and a string of related issues.

Ms. Sandberg is recommended in the Belgium: Competition section of Legal 500 EMEA 2021: “On the state aid side, Lena Sandberg and others are representing Danish transport association ITD in three state aid complaints lodged before the EC against allegedly unlawful and incompatible state aid granted to the Danish postal service.“ Previous editions stated : “Recently promoted partner Lena Sandberg has developed a first-rate reputation in state aid and public procurement matters.”

Ms. Sandberg is a regular contributor and member of the Editorial Board of the European Energy Journal, and a frequent speaker on energy, State aid, Public Procurement and energy issues. She is fluent in English, Danish, Swedish, German and French.