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Education

Addleshaw Goddard LLP’s team advises clients in the public and private sector and is recognised nationwide for its BSF work. The team is led by national head of education Nancy McGuire.

Christopher Mordue leads the 38-fee-earner team at Pinsent Masons LLP, which counts Nottingham Trent University and UCL as clients. The team is noted for its ‘sound’ sector knowledge and ‘high quality of service’.

Beachcroft has benefited from the arrival of Eve Gregory from Eversheds LLP, who jointly leads the team with Frank Suttie. It has been busy working on student accommodation schemes, and was also appointed by Bradford City Council on the transfer back to the authority of its education service functions.

DLA Piper UK LLP was one of three firms to be reappointed in 2010 to the University of Sheffield’s panel. It also counts Leeds Metropolitan and Huddersfield universities as clients. Andrew Clarke heads the team, which provides a ‘high level of service’ and has a ‘good understanding of the client’s business and legal position’. Jon Kenworthy and Roger Gough are recommended.

Manchester-based Diane Gilhooley leads the team at Eversheds LLP, which in 2010 worked with a number of universities in relation to international partnerships, collaborations and new forms of governance. The team is noted for its ‘very good response times’.

Nabarro LLP continues to work on BSF projects for Westminster City Council and the Borough of Telford & Wrekin, and also counts Sheffield City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council as clients.

Schofield Sweeney has a ‘very good’ team, and in 2010 continued to advise on the establishment of academies and trust schools, including Kings Science Academy in Bradford and the North Tyneside Learning Trust. Practice head Graham Shaw is ‘knowledgeable, and inspires confidence’.

Simon Anderson leads an ‘impressively knowledgeable’ team at Walker Morris, which has recently assisted a number of university in employment tribunal and unfair dismissal cases.

Charlotte Capstick leads the team at Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP.

DWF LLP’s team advises over 180 schools and academies in the regions, as well as The Manchester College and Salford City College. It was also appointed to Manchester Metropolitan University’s panel.

Irwin Mitchell LLP’s team, led by Michael Longden, counts Sheffield Hallam University as a key client, and was recently instructed to advise on its regeneration.

Duncan Milwain heads the team at Lupton Fawcett LLP, which in 2010 advised on various charity and social enterprise matters and also campus redevelopments.

Associate Gerry Morrison leads the team at Rollits LLP, which acts for significant clients including Leeds City College and the University of Hull.

Ward Hadaway’s team was bolstered by the arrival of Karen Andrews from Trowers & Hamlins LLP. The team continued to advise Nottingham City Council on new project delivery through its Local Education Partnership.

Watson Burton LLP receives instructions from Barnsley College, and has recently handled a significant number of academy conversions.

Health

Led by Rachael Heenan, the team at Beachcroft advises both public and private sector clients, including BUPA. It acts for some 80% of the trusts in the Yorkshire and Humber area, including Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, and Leeds PCT.

The team at Hempsons is led by Stephen Evans, who is recommended for his individual patient care knowledge. The firm provides an ‘excellent’ level of service in mental health and commercial care matters. Crispin Pettifer is ‘particularly impressive’, and provides ‘solid advice’.

Addleshaw Goddard LLP acted on all of the LIFT projects in the North of England in 2010, including the Leeds, Hull, Sheffield and Liverpool & Sefton schemes. It also regularly works on key PFI/PPP health projects. Sandra Humphrey is the firm’s national head of healthcare.

Led by Michael Boyd, Pinsent Masons LLP works closely with the NHS on its transformation, and advised Serco Healthcare in its bid for the franchise of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in 2010. Other clients include the Department of Health, First Assist, and Orchard Care Homes.

DLA Piper UK LLP advises a range of care homes, NHS trusts and private hospitals. Clients include the Mental Healthcare Group, the Salvation Army and Eastwood Care Homes. Teresa Hitchcock is the key partner.

Newcastle-based Bill Gilliam leads the team at Eversheds LLP, which acted for NHS Hull in 2010 in relation to a judicial review related to the transfer of a provider function to a social enterprise. It also counts as clients Four Seasons Healthcare, NHS Supply Chain, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Walker Morris advises clients on a wide range of matters including regulatory issues, dispute resolution, and contractual and PFI matters. Clients include Anchor Trust, and Hull and East Riding Community Health NHS Trust.

The ‘excellent’ team at DWF LLP, led by Katharine Mellor, acts mainly for private companies, and was appointed by Primary Horizons in 2010. It also acts for a host of major financial institutions. Steven Bate in Leeds has ‘excellent knowledge of contract law and is a brilliant negotiator’.

Ford & Warren continues to represent various Yorkshire health clients.

RadcliffesLeBrasseur acts for NHS trusts as well as private sector clients. The team is well known for its specialist regulatory capabilities.

Ward Hadaway acts for a number of NHS trusts, and sits on several major NHS panels.

Local government

Judith Barnes now heads the local government team at Eversheds LLP, which provides ‘timely, professional and appropriate’ advice to its clients. It acted for some 220 local authorities in 2010, advising on governance structures and constitutional matters among other areas.

Addleshaw Goddard LLP’s team won significant mandates in 2010 from new clients including Cheshire West and Chester Council and North East Lincolnshire Council, and continues to advise on various BSF and LIFT projects. Andrew Pettinger heads the department.

Frank Suttie leads the team at Beachcroft, which in 2010 advised on a package of local authority PFI projects to be salvaged from the Jarvis plc administration. It also won new instructions from the councils of St Helens and Bradford. The team was bolstered by the arrival of Eve Gregory from Eversheds LLP.

The 29-fee-earner practice at DLA Piper UK LLP has expanded to cover waste management, education and corporate governance matters.

Irwin Mitchell LLP’s ‘excellent’ team, led by the ‘supportive and knowledgeable’ Michael Longden and Laurence Gavin, is currently acting for the Northern Grid for Learning Trust and the East of England Broadband Network.

Nabarro LLP’s team provides a ‘consistently high’ level of service, and in 2010 advised on a number of local projects for Sheffield City Council, North Tyneside Council and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Team head Tim Shaw is ‘exceptional’, and the team as a whole is ‘superb’.

Anne Bowden leads the team at Pinsent Masons LLP, which is advising Newcastle City Council on a major regeneration project, as well as handling a £1bn planning, development and restructuring matter for Leeds City Council.

David Kilduff heads the team at Walker Morris, which is a part of the firm's commercial group. It continues to act for local authorities nationwide on issues ranging from asset acquisitions to restructuring and governance matters. Recent matters include advising Hull City Council on code of conduct matters, and acting on a major waste project for North Lincolnshire Council. New clients include Birmingham City Council and the Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire county councils.

Recent projects for the ‘exceptional’ team at Cobbetts LLP include the development of Leeds Arena and the new cricket stand at Headingley. The firm also advised on development agreements relating to Yorkshire Forward. Department head Tiffany Cloynes is recommended.

The team at Lester Morrill, led by Fiona Borrell, specialises in civil liberties and human rights work, and is regularly instructed in actions against local authorities.

The appointment of Karen Andrews from Trowers & Hamlins LLP has bolstered the team at Ward Hadaway, which counts Nottingham City Council and One NorthEast as clients.

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