Smita Jamdar > Shakespeare Martineau LLP > Birmingham, England > Lawyer Profile

Andrew Wilkinson  heads the department at Shakespeare Martineau LLP which has considerable experience in the social housing and education sectors. Core areas of focus include advising on complex corporate transactions, various governance, regulatory and constitutional matters as well issues regarding legacies. Lesley Davis  is well-regarded for her work in setting up and managing charitable trusts, foundations and CIOs while Smita Jamdar  regularly assists leading universities on a wide array of governance, student facing and constitutional matters. Michael Hibbs  advises on various HR and employment law matters. Rachel Gwynne  is also recommended whereas Catherine Rustomji recently joined the team from Browne Jacobson LLP.

Shakespeare Martineau LLP has a strong contentious and non-contentious offering for university and college clients, including estates matters, employment advice, disputes, complex governance, partnerships and regulatory and policy work. The head of the team is Smita Jamdar , a ‘genuine authority in the higher education sector’ who specialises in governance, student facing and constitutional matters for leading universities. David Browne is the lead employment partner for the majority of the team’s education clients and Geraldine Swanton advises universities and colleges on student complaints, discipline, fitness to practise and equality and human rights law.

Shakespeare Martineau LLP advises on estates, complex governance and disputes, with clients including a number of Russell Group universities. The practice is part of a broader group of organisations, meaning it is able to draw from experts in a wide range of fields. The team is led by the well-respected Smita Jamdar, who specialises in governance and constitutional matters, also sitting on the Higher Education Commission and the Student Futures Commission – she is ‘acknowledged as a sector leader’. In May 2021, Clive Read joined from VWV – he leads on real estate matters from the firm’s Birmingham base.