Higher Education
Home » Practice Areas »
A modern higher education institution operates in a complex legal and regulatory environment with unique challenges depending upon a host of factors, including its academic mission, governance structure, campus culture, size, and location.
How Our Higher Education Attorneys Can Help
Our lawyers understand the legal, business, policy, and compliance issues facing colleges and universities, regardless of the size, structure, or type of institution. We offer our higher education clients clear and practical guidance to help them proactively address their legal challenges before they escalate.
When a legal crisis does develop, we respond quickly, efficiently and effectively and have a long track record of successful advocacy for higher education clients in litigation and regulatory actions. Our lawyers have extensive experience defending against a broad range of claims involving colleges and universities, with particular emphasis on employment-based cases.
Common Higher Education Legal Issues
We advise clients on a variety of critical issues facing higher education institutions, including:
- Academic freedom
- Faculty, staff, and student handbooks
- Investigations for employment and Title IX-related complaints
- Reductions in force for faculty and staff
- Student complaints
- Tenure issues
- Title IX-, FERPA-, Clery-, and disability-related compliance
- Title IX team training
On behalf of our higher education clients, our lawyers have appeared before a host of regulatory agencies, including but not limited to the:
- US Department of Education (DOE)
- Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
Contact Our Higher Education Legal Team
Our attorneys are also deeply involved in the community as well, with active roles in higher education-focused groups, like the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Lawyers from our firm have been asked to speak before higher education groups like NACUA and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). And we have served as part of a team of adjunct instructors for the Higher Education Practicum at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
If your institution is seeking assistance, contact our Higher Education practice to discuss how we can help.
