England - London • Public sector
Shakespeare Martineau LLP
Shakespeare Martineau LLP‘s education team is composed of lawyers based who are ’extremely knowledgeable in their field’ and are particularly well-reputed for their expertise in a broad range of contentious matters. The team has acted for universities and further education institutions in a number of commercial and property disputes, discrimination claims, investigations related to regulatory breaches, and claims related to unfair dismissals and freedom of speech restrictions. Smita Jamdar, who leads the Birmingham-based practice, has acted for universities in a number of OfS investigations and has also led the team to handle a growing number of non-contentious mandates related to governance, charity, and commercial matters. David Browne and Tom Long are noted for their experience in reputationally sensitive employment matters, and Clive Read is highly recommended for his ability to advise universities on real estate and student accommodation schemes. For contentious work related to discrimination and harassment, Andrew Adams and Ben Humphreys are further names to note. Catherine Rustomji, who advises on charity governance matters, joined from Browne Jacobson in April 2022.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Shakespeare Martineau are excellent lawyers who give practical and accurate sector advice. Their knowledge of educational law is exceptional, and they keep pace with changes and issues which may impact higher education. They issue advanced notice of the changes and work with us to advise on individual cases, applying their expert knowledge while taking our practice into account.’
‘Smita Jamdar leads the team and gives very practical and straight-talking advice. She will recommend a course of action or tell us when we are doing something which may put us at risk.’
‘The team are extremely knowledgeable in their field and have a wealth of experience that enables them to provide legally-based, pragmatic advice and solutions. They are responsive at all times, approachable, and provide tailored advice that is accessible to non-legal colleagues.’
‘Shakespeare Martineau's education has genuine expertise in higher education and is highly collaborative. The advice and service provided has been consistently excellent.’
‘Smita Jamdar is second to none in higher education. Geraldine Swanton is knowledgeable, highly responsive, and always a delight to work with.’
Key clients
- Aberystwyth University
- Abingdon and Witney College
- Barnsley College
- Brunel University
- Capital City College Group
- Cardiff University
- Courtauld Institute
- Dudley College
- Halesowen College
- Leicester College
- Liverpool John Moore University
- London South Bank University
- North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
- Oxford Brookes University
- Quality Assurance Agency
- SOAS
- Staffordshire University
- UCLAN
- University College London
- University College of Osteopathy
- University of Cambridge
- University of Derby
- University of East London
- University of Exeter
- University of Greenwich
- University of Hertfordshire
- University of Lincoln
- University of Sheffield
- University of South Wales
- University of West London
- University of the Arts London
- West Dean College
- Wiltshire College
Work highlights
- Advised six universities on an investigation by the Office for Students for alleged breaches of various registration conditions, including defending the allegations and challenging the OfS’s untested procedure.
- Advised Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust on defending a claim by a current student who alleges discrimination, harassment and victimization arising out of content on the trust’s psychotherapy teaching and clinical training course.
- Advised a Russell Group university on major IT procurement projects worth ~£100m to entirely reshape and modernize its legacy IT systems and strategy in order to create a more agile and resilient IT framework, enhancing teaching, learning, and research, and improving the student experience.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Smita Jamdar