Solihull-based legal and chartered accountancy firm HCB Solicitors and Chartered Accountants has announced its second lateral team hire in a week.

A specialist education law team headed up by Andrew Barrowclough has joined HCB and it follows the appointment of a corporate law team led by Paul Corren.

Mr Barrowclough’s team has experience in assisting clients on a number of complex education law issues. It is able to assist parents of children, education professionals and university students on a wide variety of cases working closely with a number of specialist schools and colleges.

Mike Gahan, chief executive at HCB, said: “We are delighted the specialist education law team headed by Andrew Barrowclough is joining the HCB national network.

“The new team specialises in all aspects of education law with a focus on disputes involving making sure that children with special educational needs such as dyslexia and dyspraxia get the educational they need.

“The addition of education law specialists to the HCB national network means that the firm can offer this additional service nationally. We have gained a high calibre, highly experienced team.”

Mr Barrowclough, formerly a partner at Sinclairs Law and now head of the education law department for HCB’s national network, said: “The team has assisted hundreds of parents through the Health, Education and Social Care (HESC) Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal cases.

“It has successfully won disputed cases regarding Part 4 of a child’s Statement of SEN to secure much needed specialist placements at provisions that cost as much as £220,000 per annum.”