Students' rights and the law: what your Student Union needs to know Tuesday, 22nd May 2018 2pm - 5pm followed by drinks and an informal discussion Serjeants' Inn Chambers 85 Fleet St, London EC4Y 1AE We are delighted to invite you to a higher education law seminar which will be hosted by Sinclairslaw and Serjeants’ Inn Chambers. The panel will be led by leading experts in the field of education and professional discipline law and will provide useful guidance for anyone representing students, including how to give your members the best possible chance of securing their rights in the event of any dispute with their university. The speakers will discuss and debate how your members should handle internal appeals and fitness to practise procedures, and also how a student might be advised to proceed once their university’s internal processes have been exhausted. Issues include academic questions such as plagiarism and mitigation claims, allegations of professional misconduct against students on professional courses and disciplinary proceedings. Please feel free to forward this invitation to any of your fellow SU members or SU staff who might be interested in the event. If you have any further queries regarding this seminar please contact Isabel Biggs at IBiggs@serjeantsinn.com. To register your place for this free seminar please respond to events@serjeantsinn.com. Please be aware that we have limited places so you may wish to book early to avoid disappointment Speakers Michael Charles - Sinclairslaw Michael is a solicitor and Chief Executive of the law firm, Sinclairslaw, where he is the nationwide head of the education law department. He has been practising in this area of the law for over 25 years. His practice spans all areas of education law, including higher education, in which he is instructed predominantly by students. His practice has a particular focus representing students in court cases against the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, and within this specialism he has been involved in the leading court cases of recent years including Gopikrishna v OIA [2015] EWHC 207 (Admin) and the very recent 2018 Court of Appeal case of Thilakawardhana v OIA [2018] EWCA Civ 13. David Lawson - Serjeants' Inn Chambers David’s expertise covers the full gamut of education law, from nursery provision to post-graduate and individual rights to national policy. He is recognised by both of the leading legal directories as a leading expert in education law. He has appeared in many reported cases and his practice regularly involves complex legal questions. Recent cases include R (Zahid) v University of Manchester [2017] All ER (D) 105, considering the integration of judicial review claims against universities with complaints to the University ombudsman and R (AC) v OIA [2017] EWHC decided the interpretation of OIA rules about which complaints can be heard. George Hugh-Jones QC - Serjeants' Inn Chambers George has extensive experience of most areas of medically related work. This includes disciplinary cases in professional disciplinary tribunals such as the General Medical Council and the General Dental Council as well as related internal disciplinary processes and court challenges. Anna Tkaczynska - Serjeants' Inn Chambers Anna has a broad education law practice as well as significant experience in related areas of public law. She has represented people in a wide range of disciplinary bodies.