We align ourselves with clients to achieve meaningful goals and to resolve legal challenges in a manner that preserves important relationships and promotes the institution's values.
Our education law attorneys partner with institutional leadership to navigate the substantial legal issues and challenges facing institutions of higher education.
We are proud of our ability to anticipate and respond to the evolving legal service needs of our education clients. Our attorneys serve as counsel for numerous private and public colleges, universities, and community colleges. From contracts to litigation to compliance, we recognize and appreciate the differences between working with educational institutions and other entities.
Our attorneys work closely with our clients to address traditional legal issues facing higher educational institutions, including:
- Student conduct and dismissal matters
- Campus safety and threat assessment, including VAWA and Clery Act issues
- Serious personal-injury claims
- Discrimination laws, such as Title IX, the ADA, and Section 504
- Employment issues involving faculty, administrators, and other staff, including faculty promotion and tenure
- Traditional labor matters, including union organizing campaigns
- Unique aspects of serving the “business” needs of education clients, such as public records, FERPA, and financial aid
- Governance, policy, and other risk management issues
- Foundation tax-related issues, such as planned giving
Our team is well-versed in defending sensitive claims that have consequences beyond the specific party or parties asserting them, and we work with a range of campus leaders and in-house counsel in doing so. Our work also includes front-end compliance work, such as:
- The development and implementation of Title IX regulations and guidance
- Representation in front of administrative agencies, including the EEOC and OCR
- Defense of lawsuits pursued in state and federal courts
Our attorneys also serve educational institutions in a variety of other areas, including:
- Intellectual property, particularly copyright and trademark, patent, and tech transfer
- Data privacy
- Environmental compliance and toxic tort claims
- Nonprofit governance and restrictions
- FCC issues
- Affiliation and licensing agreements
- Land use permitting, construction contracting, and financing required for construction projects
- Insurance recovery
Our higher education attorneys are active in a number of organizations focused on higher education law and support of academic communities, including NACUA, CUPA-HR, AUTM, and AIPLA. Our attorneys regularly attend and speak at regional, national, and international events, have contributing to amicus curiae briefs, and have built long-standing relationships with member attorneys and higher education professionals.