Laura Berman

Laura advises schools on a wide range of issues, usually pupil-focussed, including:

• Admissions, admission appeals and objections to the OSA;
• Pupil behaviour and exclusions;
• Special Educational Needs, in particular in relation to schools’ responsibilities to make provision for pupils with and without an EHCP, SEN Funding, SEN related behavioural issues, responding to EHCP consultations;
• Disability and other Equality Act matters; Laura regularly defends disability discrimination claims in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal;
• School policies;
• Parental complaints;
• Safeguarding.

Laura regularly delivers training to clients on the above matters, in particular on exclusions and complaints.

Laura’s depth of experience enables her to help clients with contentious and non-contentious issues. She regularly defends judicial review challenges. 

She has specialist expertise in advising faith schools and also has significant experience assisting individuals with education law issues.

Laura manages and develops our Legal Support Retainer Service and oversees our retainer clients in London and the South East. She is always working on fine-tuning Stone King's service, to ensure clients get the best possible service for the best possible price.

Laura read Management Sciences at the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology.  She completed her Law Conversion and Legal Practice Course at the College of Law (London Bloomsbury).

Outside of her legal practice, Laura delivers workshops and training. She is Chair of Governors at 2 primary schools close to her home. She is a member of the Education Law Association. She has also written a number of articles for the Education Law Journal.

Laura spends her free time with her 3 sons and extended family, keeping fit and reading.

Laura advised a Jewish faith school in relation to several contentious objections to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator against its admission arrangements.  The response was complex not only in respect of bringing together all the elements of the numerous objections into a coherent document, but also in addressing previous case law in relation to legitimate expectation and an important 1989 judgment in relation to catchment areas.  The Adjudicator dismissed all the objections save for one.

Laura has acted for several schools and Trusts in connection with disability discrimination claims.  Laura assists in analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the claims, drafting a detailed response, negotiating a settlement if appropriate, liaising with the tribunal and instructing Counsel for representation at the hearings.

In a recent matter Laura acted for a Trust in connection with judicial review proceedings.  This concerned a permanent exclusion and consideration of Child Criminal Exploitation and Article 4 ECHR.  The judicial review was successfully defended and permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal was refused.