State schools today are enmeshed in law.

First there was the plethora of education legislation that began with the Education Act of 1944.

Then, after 1980, came the major statutes of 1981, 1986, 1988, 1992 and 1993.

These, with their related subordinate legislation, create a structure of regulation with which few, if any, other professions or businesses have to contend.

Secondly, most state schools have control of nearly all their money.

They are businesses that turn over anything between £350,000 and £4 million a year.

A large secondary school may employ 100 teachers and just as many other staff, ranging from technicians to the bursar and including office staff, cleaners and premises managers.

There may be around 1400 children within its care and it will have to cope with issues including health and safety, insurance, building contracts and the engagement of other professionals.Most state schools are maintained by the local education authority (LEA), from whom they usually obtain their legal services.

Even where those services are made available on a 'buy-back' basis (ie the funds allocated by the LEA are delegated to the school to spend and the school can decide where to obtain the services), the price charged by the LEA will be significantly less than that charged by a private practitioner.

However, a number of schools are now grant-maintained, making them completely independent.

They can still buy services from the LEA, but these will often not be tailored to their needs and will probably be restricted to technical education law and personnel issues.

Voluntary aided schools, church schools or those with a charitable or religious base are funded for the most part by the LEA, but have greater autonomy and frequently seek legal advice from the private sector.Schools are delightful clients.

Teachers are usually agreeable people to work with, quick to recognise professionalism and expertise.

They do not try to assert their own knowledge but pick up points quickly and will work with the lawyer within the agreed guidelines.

They understand t actical and strategic planning and can see how legal advice relates to their aim.Schools present a breadth of challenge for the lawyer.

For example, within one week I was asked to advise on personnel issues involving long term sickness absence; unacceptable behaviour to other members of staff; how to respond to an unsuccessful applicant for a job; a pupil exclusion; a parental complaint over the refusal of a place in a school; the ownership of school playing fields; whether or not an LEA was entitled to retain a right of pre-emption when a school became grant maintained; and a claim of racial discrimination by a mature student.

These did not all involve the same school.Schools are generally inward-looking organisations.

The senior managers are teachers whose training does not equip them for business or legal management.

They cope with it but find it a burden.

Frequently, the prospect of involvement with the law causes a high anxiety level and they need advisers to take the load off their shoulders.

To do this effectively it is necessary to understand how schools work and how teachers think.

The lawyer must understand the ethos of the school because this frequently conditions the action that will be taken.

No two schools are the same and it is impossible to advise a school well without fully understanding how it functions.

As with all clients, one needs to know the personality and concerns of those who have to make the decisions.

It is not useful to advise a headteacher who has a gentle style and who works by persuasion and suggestion to adopt a confrontational approach to a problem or person.

However, he or she may have to be supported when faced with opposition and gently urged to adopt a firmer stance.

Equally, there are others for whom a subtle approach by the legal adviser could be a disaster.

In these situations the solicitor might have to act as a restraining force to avoid an irretrievable explosion.A solicitor who wishes to enter into this fascinating world should find a way into school government or a similar organisation.

Becoming a governor is the obvious and best way, although in the interests of partners and indemnity policies he or she should avoid giving free advice.

The governor is involved in every issue a school faces and comes into contact with the senior staff.

Most governors have access to good quality free training covering all aspects of their role, including the legal aspects.

Involvement with a parent-teacher association is another means of establishing contact.

However, this is not as wide ranging because it focuses more on the parental perspective.

A third way is by acting initially for the parents and children, thus developing expertise in some areas of education law.The practitioner needs to keep abreast of changes in the law that affect schools even though they are not contained in specific Education Acts.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 imposes new obligations on schools to report the arrangements they make for disabled pupils in their annual report to parents.

This highlights the need to advise schools on their responsibilities under the 1995 Act and raises issues in relation to special educational needs.

The range of problems mentioned earlier illustrates schools' need for advice outside the strictly education law field.

Frequently, schools cope well with the technical areas but need their hands held in areas in which commercial clients would have no problem.