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“The firm has an impressive client list of central and local government, health and education bodies including Newcastle City Council. Iain Greenshields is ‘thorough and very competent’, while Rowan Ferguson’s team advises several universities as well as a number of further education colleges, independent schools and academies.”

Legal 500 2007

Our Education Group is a cross disciplinary team utilising specialists from across the firm. The Group is experienced in working for education clients. Because of the exceptional depth and breadth of the services that we offer, that is a very wide experience indeed.



We advise education sector clients across the full range of their operations. The Group acts for:-

• Universities;
• Colleges;
• Schools;
• Accreditation bodies;
• Spin-out companies;
• Commercial training providers;
• Local education authorities; and
• Banks and other funders.

Services



Dickinson Dees provides a wide range of services to many public sector bodies. We understand the complex organisations controlled by statute and a mass of case law as well as the unique issues which face your organisations.

You would expect us to say that we can handle complex property transactions, dream up innovative funding schemes, advise on major staff restructuring exercises and negotiate the re-provision of your IT system. Of course we can, and we have.

But would you also expect us to:-

• work with you to enable you to provide a package of legal services to your staff;
• supply full administrative support to your alumni office;
• use our range of contacts in the field of knowledge transfer to encourage and inform your academics;
• introduce funders for your projects;
• transform legal advice on a tortuous piece of legislation into a straightforward tool for staff to refer to at any time;
• provide ad hoc clerking support;
• use our planning consultants to advise on planning gain opportunities;
• advise on agricultural land holdings;
• provide insurance backed employment policies;
• offer tax planning and fundraising investment schedules.

These are all services we can offer. Other examples of specific areas of experience include working with:

• A university amending its Royal Charter;
• A college looking at structures to enable it to work closely with schools whilst complying with its instrument and articles of government;
• An independent school moving from governance by a Charity Commission scheme to the use of a charitable company limited by guarantee.

• A college relocating its site;
• A local authority working on its Building Schools for the Future programme;
• A university funding and constructing new teaching and student accommodation.

• A school excluding pupils, including clerking an appeal hearing;
• A college looking at staff restructuring and the dismissal of senior post holders;
• A university dealing with highly sensitive student disciplinary issue arising from allegations of harassment.

• A university disposing one of its campuses to another institution;
• A company developing e-learning products for the further education sector;
• Schools establishing and operating trading companies.