Graham Burns

Graham started his legal career in local government in 1989 supporting schools and working on major education schemes. Through various roles in private practice Graham has spent the last 30 years helping a huge number of schools, academies, local authorities and education providers to remain legally compliant and to complete major innovative educational projects.

Graham’s particular skills include advising on public sector regulatory matters (with particular expertise in the education and local authority sectors) and major commercial transactions in the Education Sector. Graham also offers substantial knowledge of major and complex PFI and public private partnership deals and has specialised in Schools PFI since working on the very first PFI pathfinder schemes in 1997. He is currently acting for a large number of PFI schools as they convert to academies, transfer to different academy trusts and deal with issues relating to the expiry of PFI contracts.

Graham has substantial practice in the academies sector, a history that began with him acting on the very first free school funding agreement. He is also recognised as one of the education sector’s leading innovators having acted for a broad range of sponsors developing Multi-Academy Trusts, and supporting growing MATs with their regulatory compliance. He is currently Practice Group Head responsible for Education, Employment and Immigration teams and sits on the Executive Board of Stone King.