BaseModel to extend Laravel Model and add some validation http://forums.laravel.io/viewtopic.php?pid=45695#p45695

BaseModel.php

<?php

// models/BaseModel.php

class BaseModel extends Eloquent
{
    
    /**
     * Errors returned by the validator.
     * 
     * @var Object
     */
    public $errors;

    /**
     * Enables us to turn the validator on or off completely.
     * 
     * @var boolean
     */
    public $enableValidator = true;

    /**
     * An array of items to be removed from input before saving.
     * 
     * @var array
     */
    private $cleanDefaults = array('_token', '_method', 'password_confirmation');

    /**
     * Hooks into the boot function of eloquent to monitor
     * when events are being carried out.
     * 
     * @return mixed
     */
    public static function boot()
    {
        // if we're saving the model, validate it first.
        static::saving(function($model){
            return $model->validate();
        });

    }


    /**
     * Validator method. Takes the rules of the model and applies them.
     * 
     * @return boolean
     */
    public function validate(array $rules = array())
    {
        // if the validator isn't enabled or there are no rules return true.
        if(!$this->enableValidator || !isset(static::$rules)) return true;

        $rules = self::processRules($rules ? $rules : static::$rules);
        $validator = Validator::make($this->attributes, $rules, static::$messages ?: array());

        // the the model attributes are valid, return true.
        if ($validator->passes()) {
            $this->cleanAttributes();
            $this->autoHash();
            return true;
        }

        // set the error messages to be returned.
        $this->errors = $validator->messages();
        return false;
    }

    /**
     * Process validation rules and replace ID's in "unique" rules.
     *
     * @param  array  $rules
     * @return array  $rules
     */
    protected function processRules(array $rules)
    {
        // get the model's ID.
        // If the ID is null, it's a new Model, so let's strip out the id completely.
        $id = $this->getKey();
        $replacement = $id == null ? "" : "," . $id;

        array_walk($rules, function(&$item) use ($replacement)
        {
            // Replace placeholders
            $item = stripos($item, ',:id:') !== false ? str_ireplace(',:id:', $replacement, $item) : $item;
        });

        return $rules;
    }

    /**
     * Removes any attributes from the model that should not be saved to the database.
     * 
     * @return void
     */
    public function cleanAttributes()
    {
        $cleaning = isset(static::$clean) ? array_merge(static::$clean, $this->cleanDefaults) : $this->cleanDefaults;
      
        foreach($cleaning  as $attr):
            unset($this->$attr);
        endforeach;
    }

    /**
     * Automatically hashes specified attributes before their saved to the database.
     * 
     * @return void
     */
    public function autoHash()
    {
        if (isset(static::$autoHash)) {
            foreach(static::$autoHash as $attr):
                
                // We should only hash attributes in the model that have changed.
                // We should ignore blank attributes - for example, the password may not have changed
                // so we don't want to change it.
                if ($this->getOriginal($attr) != $this->$attr && strlen($this->$attr) > 0) {
                    $this->$attr = Hash::make($this->$attr);
                }
            endforeach;
        }
    }

}

MyController.php

<?php

// controllers/MyController.php

/**
     * Store a newly created resource in storage.
     *
     * @return Response
     */
    public function store()
    {
        $input = Input::all();
        $user = new User(Input::all());

        if ($user->save()) {
            return Redirect::route('admin.users.index');
        }

       return Redirect::route('admin.users.create')->withInput()->withErrors($user->errors);
    }

/**
     * Update the specified resource in storage.
     *
     * @param  int  $id
     * @return Response
     */
    public function update($id)
    {
        // see if the user exists. If not, redirect with errors.
        $user = User::find($id);
        if(is_null($user)){
            Notification::error("This user cannot be found.");
            return Redirect::route('admin.users');
        }

        $input = Input::all();
       
        // if the user validates & updates successfully, go back to the user's list.
        // otherwise, return some errors.
        if ( $user->update($input) ) {
            Notification::success("This user has been updated");
            return Redirect::route('admin.users.index');
        } else {
            return Redirect::route('admin.users.edit', $id)->withErrors( $user->errors )->withInput();
        }
    }

User.php

<?php

// models/User.php

use Illuminate\Auth\UserInterface;
use Illuminate\Auth\Reminders\RemindableInterface;

class User extends BaseModel implements UserInterface, RemindableInterface {

  /**
	 * The database table used by the model.
	 *
	 * @var string
	 */
	protected $table = 'users';

	/**
	 * Ensure our records aren't permanantly deleted - only hidden.
	 * 
	 * @var boolean
	 */
	protected $softDeletes = true;

	/**
	 * The attributes excluded from the model's JSON form.
	 *
	 * @var array
	 */
	protected $hidden = array('password');

	/**
	 * Guarded attributes on the model
	 * 
	 * @var array
	 */
	protected $guarded = array();

	/**
	 * Validation Rules
	 *
	 * @var array
	 */
	public static $rules = array(
		'forename' => 'required|between:2,40',
		'surname' => 'required|between:2,40',
		'email' => 'email|required|between:6,150|unique:users,email,:id:',
		'username' => 'required|between:4,20|unique:users,username,:id:',
		'password' => 'required_without:id|confirmed|min:6',
		'password_confirmation' => 'required_with:password|min:6',
	);

	/**
	 * Custom validation messages
	 * 
	 * @var array
	 */
	public static $messages = array();

	/**
	 * Attributes to automatically clean from the Input
	 * 
	 * @var array
	 */
	public static $clean = array();

	/**
	 * Attributes to be automatically hashed when saving
	 */
	public static $autoHash = array('password');


}