Education

Consultant

Graham is one of the country’s foremost legal authorities in the education sector having advised in this field since 1999. He was also one of the first lawyers in the country to advise on the academies programme following its launch by the Labour government in 2002. Since then he has advised extensively on sponsored and school converter academies across all phases and types of provision including primary, secondary, all-through, special, alternative and hospital provision and Church academies. He has also advised extensively on academy transfers between trusts and the formation and merger of multi academy trusts. Graham has extensive experience of advising on conversions and transfers where premises are provided under the private finance initiative (PFI), drawing on his previous experience as a PFI projects lawyer. He also supports a wide range of trusts on their growth and strategic development as well as their day-to-day needs, specialising in particular on governance, compliance, contracts, admissions, exclusions and special educational needs.

Graham qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and joined Wrigleys in 2018.

Graham co-wrote A Plain Guide to the Academies Act 2010 with Chris Waterman. He also co-wrote The Regeneration Game with David Alcock, which was published in The Guardian on 24th October 2015.

Graham is a member of the Education Law Association and the Charity Law Association