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DAC Beachcroft builds its education claims team in Bristol with new partner hire

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By DAC Beachcroft

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Published 09 August 2023

Overview

International law firm DAC Beachcroft has announced that Andy Crocombe has joined the firm as a partner in its Professional and Commercial Risks team in Bristol, to lead a specialist team defending claims brought by students and pupils against universities, colleges and schools. This team forms part of the firm's wider education offering, which provides a full range of legal services to the education sector including government bodies and regulators.

Andy joins DAC Beachcroft from Plexus Law where he was a partner for over four years and had led its Financial Institutions and Professional Risks team, following eight years as a partner at Kennedys.

In the education sector Andy has acted for universities and colleges, advising on high profile claims against them for failure to educate, misrepresentation of the quality of courses, and defending judicial review proceedings. The DACB team that he will head is also heavily involved in defending claims against schools, many of which involve proceedings in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SEND).

Andy also brings considerable experience in professional indemnity, D&O and coverage work, and so adds to the recognised strength and depth of the wider team that has been tier 1 ranked in these areas by the Legal 500 and Chambers  Directories for many years.

With extensive experience of using all forms of ADR to resolve disputes, Andy is a CEDR qualified mediator and spent seven years working as a mediator with Oxford Mediation.

Helen Faulkner, partner and Head of Insurance at DAC Beachcroft, commented, "While bringing a wealth of expertise in professional indemnity and D&O claims, Andy's experience of education-related claims against universities and colleges is of particular importance, as we look to achieve our ambitious plans to grow further this area of specialist work."

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