Eversheds Sutherland has acted on behalf of the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) (part of the NYSE quoted Adtalem Global Education group) in the short-term transfer of 1,000 students and staff to the UK, after their Caribbean campus was damaged by Hurricane Irma.

The students and staff based in St Maarten, which saw thousands of homes and businesses destroyed, were relocated to temporary accommodation at the University of Central Lancashire's (UCLAN) Preston campus. Eversheds Sutherland negotiated the contract for the AUC staff and students to spend a semester based at the Preston campus, near where some AUC students already partake in clinical placements as part of their studies.

The Eversheds Sutherland team was led by Partner Glynne Stanfield, who worked closely with Adtalem and UCLAN to draw up the emergency legal agreements in just 10 days to enable the transfer to take place.

Glynne Stanfield commented:

“Hurricane Irma has been disastrous for the Leeward Islands, leaving thousands of homes and businesses destroyed and untold damage in its wake. Our team was keen to lend support in the face of this tragedy wherever possible.

“We worked incredibly hard in collaboration with Adlatem and UCLAN to get the legal agreements in place so that temporary teaching and accommodation arrangements could be made as soon as possible. We hope that our contribution has helped those affected in some way.”

Erica Irvin, Adtalem lead counsel on the transaction commented:

“It is with thanks to the Eversheds Sutherland LLP Education team for its comprehensive support in negotiating our partnership with UCLAN, that we have been able to relocate our students and staff to the UCLAN campus. We are thankful to Eversheds Sutherland team, along with the UK Government and UCLAN for offering their support during this challenging time.”