Colleges and Universities

We have served as trusted advisors to countless presidents, senior administrators and general counsel regarding:

• Governance (by-laws, policies, etc.)
• Intellectual property, especially securing and commercializing patents and trademarks
• Transactions with vendors and suppliers
• Risk management and litigation, including insurance coverage
• Faculty and staff employment and workplace issues
• Student affairs (FERPA, Title IX, etc.)
• Construction and financing of major projects, including joint efforts with the local community
• Public affairs and government relations
• Financial aid and grants

The attorneys in our Higher Education Practice Group - several of whom are active in the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) - provide counsel and litigation support on such matters as:

• Faculty promotion and tenure
• First Amendment/free expression issues
• Staff hiring and transition
• Executive searches, employment agreements, separations
• Student services and discipline, privacy (FERPA) and misconduct (Title IX)
• Study abroad relationships and related issues
• Conduct of fraternities and sororities
• Athletics department matters, including Title IX compliance
• Tax-exempt status compliance
• Patent prosecution and commercialization
• Trademark protection and commercialization
• Copyright law issues
• Development/fundraising
• Ethics and conflict of interest policies
• Financing of capital projects, including tax-exempt bonds and pursuing economic development incentives
• Negotiating and documenting all types of relationships with external entities, such as suppliers, vendors and local communities
• Regulatory challenges, such as export controls and environmental regulations
• Public access (meetings, records, etc.) compliance and challenges
• Relations with government at all levels, including lobbying of state and federal legislative and executive bodies
• Assistance with public affairs and communications strategies
• Student loan documentation and compliance
• Tax qualified retirement plans, 457(b) plans, 403(b) plans and other deferred compensation arrangements
• Health and welfare plans, including compliance with the Affordable Care Act
• Design, drafting and implementation of faculty and staff early retirement programs
• Federal financial aid and related regulation and enforcement (including Title IV)
• Accreditation 
• Grant and fundraising compliance

While higher education institutions have similar, fundamental characteristics, each has a unique culture. We invest our own time to become knowledgeable about our client's history and traditions. We deliver sophisticated legal services to our higher education clients in a cost-effective manner, drawing on our experience with building budgets and living within them.