Laxmi Patel

Laxmi Patel is parter and head of Boyes Turner’s leading  Special Education Needs team. Laxmi is an expert in special educational needs and works closely with parents, schools, local authorities and case managers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to achieve their potential in their education.

Laxmi is recognised as a leading SEND specialist and is regularly invited to share her expertise on developments in SEND law, legislative changes, government guidance and evolving practice and procedure. She frequently delivers training and presentations for charities, parent groups and professionals, helping others understand the practical implications of changes within the SEND landscape.

Laxmi is listed as one of only a small number of Band 1 UK-wide ranked lawyers in the Chambers UK Guide to the legal profession for Education work.

Laxmi has vast experience in guiding parents through every stage of their child’s statutory assessment process and conducts appeals to SENDIST against local authority refusals to conduct Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments, refusals to issue Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP), and EHCP contents, including the named school.

She advises parents on how and when to ask for an EHC needs assessment and what to do if they are unhappy or unsure about the adequacy of their child’s educational provision. She provides health checks on the contents of existing EHCPs and helps parents secure amendments to the EHCPs, for example where they want a different named school, whether that be maintained, independent, special or mainstream, residential or day. Working closely with parents to achieve the child’s optimum outcome, Laxmi has secured tri-partite funding from education, health and social services and has successfully led cases for independent/non-maintained residential schools. She supports the parents at meetings with the local authority, experts and the school to resolve issues as smoothly and efficiently as possible

Laxmi has extensive expertise in helping children with both profound and subtle difficulties. She has successfully pursued cases for children with complex and wide-ranging learning disabilities including cerebral palsy, autistic spectrum disorder speech and language difficulties, hearing and visual impairment, Down’s syndrome, dyslexia/dyspraxia/dyscalculia, emotional behavioural difficulties, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sensory processing disorder.

Laxmi provides invaluable SEN advice, representation and specialist educational support to the babies and children with profound and complex learning difficulties who are represented by Boyes Turner’s clinical negligence and Court of Protection teams. Her clients also come to her from other solicitors, therapists, special schools and through recommendations from families who have already received her help in securing suitable school placements and SEN support for their children.

She also regularly provides seminars on best practice to parents, case managers, schools and experts and regularly offers advice on how parents can support their children with SEND through the EHCP.

In the past she has been a school governor and volunteered as an education law advisor for the National Autistic Society (NAS).