‘The good thing about working with Browne Jacobson is that it never really matters which member of the team you are working with. Every colleague is exceptional. There is never any variation from the highest possible standards and there is such a wide range of experience that you are always working with an expert.’

‘The key people our team works with are Dai Durbridge, Eleanor Drabble and Tom Briant-Evans. They are all incredibly professional, offering high quality advice and support with very fast turnaround times.’

‘The team in the North West are not only incredibly knowledgeable and instil confidence when seeking advice, but they are also practical and have a firm understanding of the education sector. Their advice is well structured, demonstrates an understanding of the impact upon the work environment and is always delivered in a friendly, timely yet professional manner.’

‘The HR and Legal team at Browne Jacobson are extremely dedicated and supportive and never fail to provide us with sound advice. They respond quickly and will always provide back up information to support any questions. We use the MATPP service where a dedicated team who have a wide range of knowledge are available to contact. I find that they respond quickly and generous with their time and knowledge and will always refer on any questions they cannot answer initially to another colleague. They demonstrate strong collaboration across the HR and legal teams, provide us with legal and best practice guidance and excellent courses, webinars and document templates. Our MAT is enriched by their knowledge, expertise and service.’

‘We have been really pleased with the speed of service and professional advice we have received. Strong relationships and trust in the service are a strength of the practice. We have been able to liaise with experts on complex issues. We have procured several engaging and bespoke training sessions for our trust employees. We have also used Browne Jacobson for converting academies to our trust, which has been successful, even when the conversion was complex, e.g. land ownership.’

‘Broad skillset. Rapid, clear, concise advice. Generous time allocation to issues.’

‘Excellent support from Browne Jacobson. Their extensive knowledge of the education sector gives our organisation peace of mind regarding all legal aspects. Whenever I have contracted the firm I always receive a timely response and partners and associates are always available to talk through any queries and concerns.’

‘The key for the individuals who work for the company is that they have a deep understanding of the ears of law that affect the education sector, Dai Durbridge is our partner and he bring the clarity in the areas of law he is proficient in to bar on the advice provided, but brings in specialist as and when needed.’

‘Responsive and experts in their fields.’

‘Robert Gray has been consistently excellent over a number of years.’

‘I have worked with Eversheds over many years primarily on employment cases and have always found them easy to work with. Their people are very commercial, professional and rational.’

‘Robert is always excellent to work with and I cannot recommend him highly enough. He is diligent, tenacious and also very pragmatic.’

‘We hold the Managing Partner Diane Gilhooley, in high regard, having worked with her for 20 years.’

‘The Education team is particularly helpful because of its sector-specific focus which enables it to provide insight and focussed, tailored advice and support.’

‘The customer facing approach provided by Eversheds; their speed of response; their obvious specialism and current knowledge of the further education sector.’

‘Robert Gray – speedy response and general approach to working through any issues to provide clear advice. Robert and Diane Gilhooley have also provided information events for Governors and staff to bring people up to date with latest developments.’

‘Weightmans provide us with an excellent, timely service.’

‘Melanie Steed provides exceptional service with her availability and the standard and delivery of the information she provides.’

‘Wide ranging experience across all aspects of Higher Education. Mills and Reeve have a number of partners and paralegals with expertise across the sector. Attention to detail and speed of response, often over long periods, are especially noteworthy.’

‘Richard Sykes – attention to detail, personal approach, excellent follow up. Takes care to ensure all aspects of a case are covered and that the client understands fully what action should be taken.’

‘Known experts in the field and good local knowledge.’

‘Mills & Reeve’s education practice is second to none. The team have significant experience in this area which they are able to apply in a practical and user friendly way, navigating and supporting through thorny issues, providing creative solutions.’

‘Richard Skyes is a stand out lawyer, who is responsive and nice to deal with, giving piece of mind that a matter has been thoroughly considered.’

‘Very knowledgeable about the sector and a “go to” firm when needing higher education specialist advice.’

‘Adaptable, responsive, and with specialists who really understand the sector and can adapt to a range of complex situations. Easily our go-to practice for anything public-law or HE-law related.’

‘Richard Sykes in particular is outstanding – intelligent, incisive and able to see to the heart of complex high-risk situations; equally good at thinking on his feet and at giving considered advice on multi-dimensional nuanced issues, and exceptional in his ability to tailor advice and explanations to specific organisational circumstances.’