Education

As trusted education sector advisers, we help you seize growth opportunities while protecting you from potential complications. Our tailored legal solutions ensure swift resolution and consider broader reputational concerns. Data law, cyber-attacks, duty of care, digital learning, consumer regulations, net carbon zero and estate management are just some of the areas in which we offer support to our clients.

Overview

We are a leading adviser to the Education sector, providing a full range of legal services to schools, colleges, universities, and government bodies.

Our team's extensive experience of the sector gives us a large bank in knowledge and understanding of emerging regulation, enabling us to provide insightful advice that considers every angle. Our advice is pro-active and delivers our innovative solutions in areas including:

  • Virtual learning and other digitalisation strategies
  • Estate enhancement and rationalisation
  • Protection and commercialisation of innovations and inventions
  • Defending claims and complaints against educational establishments, both the organisation and its employees, including whistleblowing, personal injury, sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, discrimination and breach of contract
  • Outsourcing contracts – technology, facilities management and catering

Working in collaborative and flexible teams, bespoke to each client, our Educational experts are drawn from areas of legal expertise including:

  • Employment
  • Health & Safety
  • Immigration
  • Information Law
  • Dispute Resolution, Civil Litigation and Abuse
  • Real Estate and Construction
  • Regulation and Public Law
  • Intellectual Property
  • Charity Law
  • Contract Law

Featured experience

  • A confidential group of universities - Advice to a number of chartered bodies on the interpretation of their royal charter and by-laws, drafting amendments and related governance frameworks and managing the process for making amendments.
  • A South of England, Russell Group University - We successfully defended the University in a claim brought by a student in relation to the ethicality of the subject of his thesis. The case is ongoing as the matter has subsequently been referred to the Independent Adjudicator.
  • Piepenbrock v London School of Economics (‘LSE) - We successfully defended LSE in the High Court against allegations they had failed properly to manage allegations made by a research assistant that she had been molested by a senior member of staff, causing that senior member of staff stress at work. The claim was pitched at several million pounds as was the largest educational stress at work case to reach the courts in recent years.
  • A Leading London University - Advising on the development and letting of a 445-bed student accommodation for postgraduate students, developed by Alumno Developments and funded by Legal & General Investment Management.
  • A Leading Northern University - Our Real Estate and Construction teams advised the university on the strategic acquisition of a recently developed office scheme in the heart of the city centre, to create a new business school.
  • A North of England College - We acted on the acquisition of a new city centre campus site. Advise included procurement of the professional team, construction contracts, title investigation and negotiation and completion of an option to acquire a large site. This included a complicated transfer and detailed Estate Services and Works Agreement to deal with matters such as planning, public realm, development and pre-emption rights.

Education key contacts

Who we are

Why choose DAC Beachcroft?

We’re a broad-based commercial firm serving a wide range of sectors with a strong heritage in insurance,
health and real estate. We combine excellent legal skills and cutting-edge delivery expertise to design
solutions that fit the needs of our clients – often involving clever uses of technology.