HCR Law has been providing legal expertise to schools for over 50 years and were at the very forefront of the academy movement. We operate on a national basis and over the years have built a reputation for providing solution driven legal advice. Our expertise is in the education sector is noted in the ‘industry bibles’ - Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.
As one of the few top 50 law firms operating in the sector, we offer a full range of legal services to schools and trusts. Day-to-day we support our clients with ‘core’ education queries regarding admissions, exclusions, parental complaints, data protection, safeguarding, employment issues and governance.
Our lawyers have also supported hundreds of successful academy conversions and transfers and often act on more complex projects involving the re-brokerage of schools. We have experience in advising a wide range of trusts including acting for special, alternative provision and Church of England and Catholic academy trusts.
Wherever possible we provide fixed fee advice for our clients providing certainty over costs and as our specialist lawyers work purely within the education sector we avoid the competing pressures of acting for commercial clients where schools often take second place.
We provide a range of the ‘off the peg‘ fixed fee services for trusts and schools including a general legal retainer offering legal advice on an uncapped number of queries that can be dealt with over the course of either 30 minutes or one hour. We also offer several targeted products for schools covering hot topics such as subject access requests, parental complaints and employment issues. These provide a combination of bespoke advice and access to template letters and documents that allow our clients to confidently handle more of these matters in-house.
Our fixed fee services extend to trust growth projects, with academy conversions, mergers and transfers being costed in an open and transparent way. Over the years our lawyers have worked with most local authorities and DfE teams up and down the country and are well versed in all the idiosyncrasies that can crop up in these types of projects. Where trusts are pressed for capacity, we able to provide on the ground HR support for as long as needed to help with due diligence and ensuring that the TUPE process runs smoothly.
Our employment team provide specialist support for our education clients with a dedicated team providing advice to schools across the sector. We are used to working productively with the teaching unions and regularly advise schools on settlement agreements, staff grievances and restructuring. We often work with insurers and the RPA.
Social Value and Sector Impact
At HCR Law, we pride ourselves on being “The Law Firm with a Passion for People,” a commitment reflected in our support for our staff, local communities, and the environment. Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and consistently awarded the Law Society’s Lexcel quality mark, we uphold the highest standards of compliance and client care.
Our dedication to positive impact is evidenced by the establishment of our charity arm in 2007, which has raised over £1.5 million to date. We have pledged to increase this to £2.5 million by 2030. As an accredited Investor in People and with a commitment to reaching net-zero by 2040, we are actively shaping a better future for both our people and the planet.
Our Education team is renowned for its sector expertise and proactive support, regularly delivering specialised training to school staff, presenting at national conferences, and providing template documentation and handbook reviews for leading sector organisations. Led by Kristine Scott, the team is currently collaborating with local authorities to develop bespoke safeguarding policy templates, tailored to local Safeguarding Children Partnership agendas. We frequently review these documents to ensure legal compliance, and offer such services pro bono to schools, underscoring our commitment to the sector and wider community.
Discover more about our work supporting people, communities, and the environment: https://www.hcrlaw.com/our-work-with-our-communities/
