Birketts LLP

Education, Charities

Partner, Solicitor-Advocate, FRSA, Head of Administrative and Public Law Disputes

Sara is a Partner, Litigator and Dispute Resolver and specialises in key areas including:

Administrative and public law litigation (especially Judicial Review and Procurement Disputes). Charities (disputes and regulatory issues). Education dispute management (including student issues).

Sara, our Head of Administrative and Public Law Disputes, advises on a wide range of litigation and regulatory matters for our corporate, commercial, and UK public sector clients, from handling and resolving complaints and disputes pre litigation, to advising and representing clients involved in litigation especially for or against public bodies in procurement disputes and Judicial Reviews across many sector areas including Tax and Planning. Sara also advises on a wide range of contentious general administrative and public law and regulatory issues including in the health sector.

Sara is also a member of the firm-wide Charities Group and as such has an overview of the sector and its issues. Her particular specialism is in disputes and litigation especially in dealing with regulatory bodies including the Charity Commission and HMRC, regulatory and compliance issues, investigations and enforcements.

Sara has extensive specific expertise in the education sector which includes advising colleges, universities, academies, independent schools and quangos on litigation and student issues such as complaints (especially persistent and vexatious), discipline, appeals, safeguarding, fitness to practise and other internal hearings, sexual misconduct including peer on peer, Disability and SEND including SEND Tribunals  and advising on Office of the Independent Adjudicator complaints.

An accomplished presenter, Sara speaks at a number of varied events on issues ranging across disputes, the charity sector and education and writes for sector media. Watch Sara’s most recent webinar is on handling Trustee Board disputes here.

Sara is a member of Birketts’ Responsible Business Committee and chairs the firmwide Charities and Communities Committee. Sara is based in our Cambridge office and operates firm-wide.

Sara is a Director and Trustee of Cambridge Live the new non-profit distributing organisation governing, managing and operating Cambridge’s Corn Exchange, Guildhall and Folk Festival and other live arts and entertainment events in Cambridge. She is also Vice Chair of her Parish Council and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Joined Birketts 2010 Trained and qualified at a national law firm 2002 Nottingham Law School Law Degree, Durham University 2:1 Hons