Education is a major growth sector for East Anglian law firms. The Legal 500 guide brackets four firms in the top tier for legal advice – Eversheds, Hewitsons, Mills & Reeve and Taylor Vinters. Birketts makes the second tier.

The guide reports: “Eversheds’ national education practice includes the ‘timely, practical and commercial’ Glynne Stanfield, who assisted in establishing Barnfield College, the first free school sponsored by a further education college. He also advised the University of Newcastle upon Tyne on setting up a Malaysian campus.

“Clare Colacicchi’s ‘helpful, clear and prompt’ team at Hewitsons calls on a further eight partners for commercial, property, financial and charities advice. The firm advised in relation to Impington Village College’s conversion to academy status, and the refurbishment of Chapel Court for Jesus College, Cambridge.

“Gary Attle oversees a leading higher education practice at Mills & Reeve that provides ‘excellent response times, reasonable fees and focused advice’.

“The firm is on the new legal panel of the University of Hertfordshire, and acted for new client Chaucer College in 2011.

“Taylor Vinters’ ‘balanced, always professional’ education practice gives ‘outstanding advice’, and Christine Berry is ‘very much embedded in the Cambridge ecosystem’. The team advised on the separation of an independent school from a Cambridge college in 2011.

“Erika Clarke’s team at Birketts is ‘responsive and understands the needs of clients’. Chris Barker, Kath Herbert and Sara Sayer ‘all provide good, readily understood advice’. Lowestoft Sixth Form College is a client.”

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Glynne Stanfield, Eversheds