Higher Education

A REAL UNDERSTANDING

We think that what really matters in providing excellent strategic advice is that the firm is also able to bring an understanding of the internal workings of higher education institutions to its advice. More than half of the firm’s lawyers have worked in the in-house legal teams of universities or undertaken long-term secondments to them. A number of the firm’s lawyers have also worked in university administration, academia and as external examiners.
Our specialist lawyers advise on all issues encountered by higher education institutions and other organisations within the education sector.

Registry

We provide advice on the full range of legal issues encountered by the Registry.

Governance, Constitutional and Academic Registry

(Contact Lucy Poole) including legal advice on:

  • HE legislation and regulatory requirements.
  • Governance.
  • Company law and charity law.
  • Freedom of Information and Data Protection.
  • Constitutional matters including Royal Charters and Statues of Incorporation.
  • Governance relating to joint ventures, trading and other subsidiaries.
  • Academic Registry.
  • Mergers and collaborations.

Student matters

(Contact Lucy Poole) including legal advice on:

  • Student academic appeals, complaints and disciplinary matters.
  • Fitness to practise issues.
  • Plagiarism and academic misconduct.
  • Students as consumers.
  • Appeals to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
  • Offers, enrolment and the student contract.
  • Competition law and regulation.
  • Tuition fees.
  • Equality and discrimination.
  • Policies and procedures.
  • Privacy issues.
  • Tier 4 sponsorship duties and compliance.
  • Student litigation, including breach of contract claims and judicial review.

Finance

Banking and finance

(Contact Helen Bolton) including legal advice on:

  • Bilateral and syndicated bank borrowing.
  • Bond issues.
  • Derivatives.
  • Project finance.
  • Innovative financing arrangements.
  • Fund raising, sponsorship and donations.
  • Loans between associated bodies.

Commercial

(Contact Jason Poole or Lucy Poole) including legal advice on:

  • Public procurement law and regulation.
  • Home and overseas collaborative joint ventures.
  • Research grants and contracts.
  • IP and commercialisation.
  • Data protection, equality and diversity and modern slavery.
  • Commercial contract drafting and review.
  • Confidentiality agreements.
  • Knowledge transfer agreements.
  • Technology agreements including software and hosting, privacy policies, end user agreements and terms of use.
  • Competition law and state aid.
  • Law regulating events.
  • Domestic and overseas franchising agreements.

Estates

Major projects

(Contact Jason Poole) including legal advice on:

  • Campus development.
  • Student accommodation projects.
  • PFI/PPP.
  • Capital projects.
  • Outsourcing.

Property

(Contact James Polo-Richards) including legal advice on:

  • Buying and selling land.
  • Development.
  • Landlord and tenant.
  • Planning.
  • Environmental.

Construction

(Contact Robert Weatherley) including legal advice on:

  • Procurement strategy.
  • Drafting and interpreting industry standard-form construction documents.
  • Drafting bespoke construction documents.
  • Professional appointments.
  • Collateral warranties.
  • Bonds, guarantees and insurance.
  • Technology and Construction Court litigation.
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).