Kylie Dean

Kylie Dean is a Paralegal within our Education and Children’s Rights team, based in our London office.

Professional Biography

Kylie graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), a qualifying law degree that provides the academic foundation for working within the legal profession. She went on to complete a Master of Laws and the Legal Practice Course (LLM LPC) at the same university later that year.

Before beginning her legal career, Kylie spent several years working for Kumon, an educational tutoring organisation supporting children of all abilities, including many with special educational needs (SEN). This early experience gave her a strong understanding of how SEN impacts learning, confidence, and family life, and it played a key role in shaping her interest in education law.

Kylie began working in the legal profession in 2022 as a Paralegal at another law firm, where she worked within the Commercial Property team, transferring into the Education sector in 2024. This role involved managing the academisation process, which is the legal transfer of a school to academy status. This required her to liaise with Multi-Academy Trusts, organisations responsible for faith schools, individual schools, and the Department for Education.

Her responsibilities included drafting initial client communications, acting as the main point of contact for schools and trusts, identifying missing information, drafting and negotiating documents and ensuring strict deadlines were met. Kylie regularly reviewed complex property documents such as leases and transfers, as well as corporate documents including commercial transfer agreements and funding agreements. She also prepared property reports, submitted applications to the Land Registry, and handled requisitions raised during the registration process.

A key part of her role involved analysing legal documents and identifying where amendments were needed to protect the client’s interests. Kylie ensured that clients fully understood the documents they were signing or becoming legally bound by, presenting information clearly and without legal jargon. She was also responsible for coordinating the signing and return of documents in both electronic and hard-copy form so that legal transactions could complete on schedule. This experience allowed Kylie to develop strong communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to guide clients through unfamiliar and often complex legal processes.

In her current role at Simpson Millar, Kylie supports families, young people, and children in matters relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Her day-to-day work includes supporting Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) appeals, assisting with cases before the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal, and providing guidance to parents and young people who are seeking support with education-related issues.

She works closely with solicitors in the team, Local Authorities, schools, educational psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and the SEND Tribunal. Her focus is on helping families understand their rights and secure the support, provision, and educational placements their children or young people need.