Education

We understand the intense pressure as tighter margins and rising costs push your educational institutions into reassessing operating models. With challenges including VAT reform for independent schools, rising energy costs, increasing SEND demand, cybersecurity risks and the requirement to modernise estates, we give you the bandwidth to focus on delivering a quality education and feel supported with your legal pressures.

Why Walker Morris: Supporting education institutions with their legal challenges

With one of the most experienced multi‑disciplinary education teams , we work alongside you to navigate complexity. Whether you’re developing campuses, managing workforce challenges, securing funding or delivering large‑scale change, our team supports you with their deep knowledge and track record of delivering quality, high‑value work to the education sector.

What sets us apart

• One of the largest cross‑disciplinary education teams north of London, advising across employment, pensions, real estate, construction, projects, litigation, corporate and regulatory matters.
• Long‑standing expertise, with many clients working with us for 20+ years.
• Extensive national client base, with instructions from schools, MATs, colleges and universities across the country.
• Recognised excellence, including Legal 500 Yorkshire Tier 2 ranking for Education, Energy & Projects and Intellectual Property and Tier 1 rankings for Construction, Employment, Banking & Finance, Commercial, Planning and Local Government.
• Specialists in major development and infrastructure projects, including Condition Improvement Fund schemes, student accommodation, campus developments and high‑value university transactions.

We can advise you on:

We work with educational institutions to balance their legal obligations with their operational goals. The projects we have worked on include:

• Supporting academy conversions, mergers and restructuring / structural change.
• Managing estates, construction and redevelopment projects including drafting and negotiating building contracts, appointments and warranties.
• Delivering and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Employment and pensions challenges, including restructuring, workforce change, industrial relations, safeguarding issues and USS/TPS complexities.
• Funding, PFI and support financing arrangements.
• Construction disputes, commercial disagreements, governance issues and regulatory challenges.
• Draft and manage procurement documentation.
• Estates strategy and asset management, including land transfers, leases, acquisitions, safety and disposals.
• Data protection and AI challenges.
• Capture, commercialisation and protection of intellectual property rights.
• Supporting energy transition, heat networks and sustainability projects.