The education team at Browne Jacobson has been appointed to more than 25 school academy conversion projects across the country since May this year.

Academies are state-funded independent schools which are free from local authority control and have a greater say in managing their finances, shaping the curriculum and setting teachers' pay and conditions.

According to independent legal directory Chamber 2011 Browne Jacobson has one of the leading education teams in the country. Mark Blois, Head of Education at Browne Jacobson, commented:

"This is a groundbreaking coalition initiative involving unique legal structures and relationships so we are delighted to be involved in such work.

"The process for a school to convert to an Academy can take a minimum of three months and involves a complex interplay of legal processes including public consultation, setting up a company limited by guarantee, new arrangements for the land and buildings, putting in place new financial systems and banking arrangements and transfer of employment and pensions

"The conversion process can appear quite daunting at first so it is important that schools work with advisers that have sector knowledge and expertise in a number of key areas including corporate, commercial, real estate, HR and pensions. With the right expertise on hand schools should be able to complete the conversion process relatively smoothly.

"The extension of the academies programme to all schools is still in its infancy with the Academies Act having only received Royal Assent back in July. Whilst we anticipate that more schools will want to come on board over the coming year it is also still important that local authorities continue to play a role in overseeing education provision locally."

For more information about Browne Jacobson, please visit their website here: www.brownejacobson.co.uk