HY Education Solicitors

Education, Public, Litigation, Employment and Data Protection

Director

Dean Hulse is a Director, barrister and co-founder of HY Education Solicitors. He was admitted as a solicitor in 2012 before cross-qualifying as a barrister in 2016. Dean leads the firm’s Litigation, Education and Data Protection departments and also plays a central role in the strategic direction and development of the firm’s specialist services for schools and MATs.  He is a principal point of contact for many of the firm’s largest MAT clients,

He has extensive experience advising schools and multi-academy trusts, and is regularly instructed in complex and sensitive matters. His strong public sector background, including work within both local government and at the Independent Office for Police Complaints (IOPC), gives him a deep understanding of how public bodies and regulators operate in practice. This insight is invaluable when supporting schools and MATs in relation to disputes involving local authorities.

Dean is frequently involved in judicial review challenges against local authorities, particularly in relation to decisions impacting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). He also specialises in contentious employment litigation, supporting schools and MATs across the full range of workplace disputes, including unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and safeguarding-related claims. He has significant experience representing education clients in both employment and SEND tribunal proceedings, and his advocacy background brings a distinct tactical and strategic perspective to the most complex and sensitive cases.

Dean’s expertise in data protection and information governance was central to the development of the firm’s Data Protection Officer service for schools. Dean advises the firms key clients on data protection compliance.

He also provides thought leadership on SEND and education law through speaking engagements and sector-focused events for schools and MAT leaders.

Welsh, Spanish.