Education Law for Universities, Schools & Regulators

Education Law for Universities, Schools & Regulators

We provide clear, practical advice to higher-education institutions, schools and public bodies -covering governance, compliance, student matters and research agreements.

Trusted Legal Advisors to Ireland’s Education Sector

• Student matters & discipline: complaints, fair admissions, equality,  judicial review, data protection/FOI.
• Governance & compliance: Boards of Management, policies/handbooks, director/trustee duties, conflicts, regulatory change, FOI/data protection.
• Research, innovation & commercialisation: collaboration and funding agreements, IP/licensing, state-aid/competition considerations and MTAs.

Student Matters & Discipline

Support across the student lifecycle: complaints and disciplinary processes, academic appeals and fair admissions, equality and discrimination issues,  judicial review, and data protection/FOI (including access requests).

Governance & Compliance

Board and committee support for universities, technological universities and schools: governance handbooks; director/trustee duties and conflicts; remuneration/audit committee policies; FOI and data protection frameworks; and practical implementation of regulatory change.

Research, Innovation & Commercialisation

Research and collaboration agreements, industry-sponsored projects, IP ownership and licensing, public-funding terms, state-aid/competition considerations, and materials transfer agreements - structured to protect academic freedom and institutional value.

Strategic Sector Insight

Partners serving on sector boards and committees give us early visibility on emerging challenges. We translate that insight into proactive advice so you can navigate risk, change and regulation with confidence.

Recent Work within the Education Sector

• Represented a third-level institution in a High Court defamation dispute arising from student work placements in Asia, addressing defences, duties owed to students, placement-provider relationships and jurisdiction/conflict-of-laws issues.
• Drafted a corporate governance handbook for a university subsidiary covering director duties, conflicts of interest, and remuneration/audit committee policies.
• Advised third level institution on recurring corporate governance matters, including participation at sub-committee level for ongoing support.

Integrated Support for Your Institution

We coordinate the right specialists so you can manage risk and keep operations running.

Employment & Education HR

Resolve staff issues, manage protected disclosures, and deliver compliant organisational change.

Data Protection & Privacy

Respond to Freedom of Information and data subject access requests, and embed robust, compliant data practices.

Litigation & Disputes

Settle matters early through negotiation and mediation, and act decisively in court when needed.

Contact Us

Speak directly with our Education team below about student matters, governance/FOI or research contracts.