Experience

Investigations

• Conducted an independent investigation reviewing both allegations of sexual abuse at an independent school and school leadership's response to those allegations. 
• Negotiated favorable resolution of a state Attorney General investigation of claims pertaining to racial incidents at a major Boston cultural institution.
• Defended a large proprietary educational company in a multi-year investigation by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
• Defended national for-profit universities in consumer fraud investigation initiated by state Attorney General.

Civil Rights/Title IX Compliance

• Regularly conduct full-scale operational assessments to ensure compliance with civil rights and antidiscrimination laws. Our work is regularly used in connection with certification requirements necessary to obtain and maintain federal funds and defend against potential False Claims Act investigations and litigation. 
• Advise colleges, universities, and secondary schools on admission and recruitment policies, including compliance with applicable civil rights laws, use of race-neutral practices, assessing strategies designed to increase school access, and overarching diversity statements and goals.
• Represented public K-12 school system in matters related to its exam school policy, which was amended during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow for greater representation from underrepresented neighborhoods, socioeconomically disadvantaged families, and unhoused or housing-insecure students in the district’s highest performing schools. The policy saw widespread opposition throughout the public hearing process and successive litigation prior to, and following, its implementation.
• Filed amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, arguing in support of Harvard’s consideration of race as a means of increasing student body diversity and enhancing the overall university experience. The brief was cited in Justice Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion.
• Filed amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of AALDEF in Fisher I and Fisher II, successive cases challenging the undergraduate admissions program of the University of Texas. The brief in Fisher II was cited in the Court’s majority opinion.
• Conducted internal investigation into anonymous written and electronic complaints of discrimination to a leading private university’s human resources department..

Litigation

• Defended UMass system in class action brought by students seeking tuition reimbursement in connection with remote classes during COVID. Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed following class certification briefing.  Holmes et al. v. University of Massachusetts (D. Mass.). 
• Defended Northeastern in class action brought by students seeking tuition reimbursement in connection with remote classes during COVID. Obtained dismissal of certain counts and summary judgment of remaining counts.  Chong et al. v. Northeastern University (D. Mass.).
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of Harvard College and two College administrators in connection with a wrongful death case alleging violations of the special duty of care owed by institutions to take reasonable measures to prevent a student’s suicide. Tang v. Harvard College et al. (Mass. Super. Ct.)..
• Represented Harvard University in federal court case challenging handling of Title IX complaints. Case settled favorably. Czerwienski v. Harvard (D. Mass.).
• Defended Tufts University in suit brought by former student alleging contract and tort violations related to a Title IX investigation conducted by the University.  The case settled favorably following summary judgment. McLaughlin v. Tufts University (Mass. Super. Ct.).
• Won a unanimous decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturning approval by the state Attorney General of a proposed statewide ballot question that would have repealed the Common Core education standards in Massachusetts. 
• Secured dismissal of a student lawsuit Harvard students challenging Harvard University’s investments in fossil fuels. The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed on appeal.
• Secured the dismissal of wrongful death claim brought against a major university by the family of a man murdered on campus.

Labor & Employment

• Representing Harvard University in highly publicized litigation filed in federal court by its former Head Women’s Ice Hockey Coach alleging gender discrimination, retaliation, and equal pay claims under both federal and state law. Stone v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (D. Mass.).
• Secured summary judgment on behalf of Harvard University in federal litigation alleging that a former faculty member was wrongfully denied tenure due to her race and gender and obtained unanimous affirmance from the First Circuit. Theidon v. Harvard Univ. (D. Mass.).
• Obtained dismissal of equal pay claim against a Boston-area college alleging that female faculty were systematically paid less than male faculty of the educational institution.
• Advised Boston-area unionized higher education client on the labor implications of its merger with a non-union college and negotiated with the faculty association concerning the effects of the merger.
• Regularly work with schools to develop and implement proactive and comprehensive labor relations policies, with significant experience litigating disputes before the NLRB and in labor arbitrations.
• Successfully tried a case before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination on behalf of a university client defending against a pregnancy discrimination claim. After a multi-day hearing, the complainant voluntarily withdrew her charge with prejudice without seeking any settlement.
• Successfully defended a university professor in a National Science Foundation investigation of alleged research fraud.
• Won dismissal of an educational testing company from a federal lawsuit claiming employment discrimination, breach of contract, and violation of consumer protection statutes.

Institutional Governance

• Serve as general counsel or special outside counsel for leading Massachusetts colleges, universities, and independent schools.
• Regularly advise on by-laws, trust instruments, constitutions, and other policy reviews, updates, and compliance issues.
• Lead and support senior leadership hiring searches, including university presidents, heads of school, and other C-suite administrators. Work includes compensation studies, advising boards, senior team members, and HR professionals, and drafting and finalizing complex employment agreements.
• Regularly advise institutions concerning multi-year strategic planning initiatives, including development, implementation, and tracking.
• Assist numerous institutions on matters of institutional governance and compliance with state statutes and regulations.

Insurance Recovery

• Counsel for universities seeking insurance recovery for defense costs and settlement costs in connection with antitrust class action alleging that the universities colluded to reduce financial aid in violation of federal antitrust law.
• Counsel for university seeking insurance recovery in connection with wrongful death, personal injury and related lawsuits, governmental investigations and other losses arising from campus incident.
• Counsel for various universities seeking insurance coverage for COVID-related losses and refund lawsuits brought by students.
• Experience also extends to “first party” claims under employee dishonesty policies and “all risk” property policies, both of which frequently arise in institutional settings.

Student Athletes

• Represented multiple NCAA athletes in voiding illegal representation agreements with unlicensed agents and managers.
• Advised multiple NCAA athletes in connection with NCAA eligibility disputes, including issues related to agent contact, impermissible benefits, and NIL regulations.
• Review and negotiate NIL agreements, addressing compensation terms, scope of obligations, termination clauses, indemnification, and intellectual property rights.
• Represented prominent NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, WNBA, and PLL athletes in wide range of matters from general business to endorsements, NIL agreements, and sponsorships.

Research Compliance

• Represented public university system in internal investigation regarding sufficiency of Office of Research Integrity (ORI)-mandated research misconduct investigation, involving review of leaked confidential report, ensuing potential market manipulation, and other federally investigated claims.
• Conducted full assessment and revision of leading private research university’s faculty research disclosure policies, practices, and training materials. Training materials included guidance for research administration professionals tasked with reviewing disclosures, as well as faculty members responsible for promoting improved disclosure practices.
• Reviewed all 600+ disclosures submitted by faculty of arts and sciences and school of engineering and applied sciences for real or perceived financial conflicts of interest and conflicts of time and commitment.
• Reviewed all university management plans for mitigating real or perceived conflicts of interest and developed templates, timelines, policies, and training materials for improving the efficiency and efficacy of the management plan process.
• Advised education clients on subrecipient assessments and ongoing monitoring policies and developed monitoring tool kits to help ensure faculty and principal researchers meet all state and federal monitoring and oversight requirements. Worked side-by-side with subrecipient monitoring committees to provide feedback on subrecipient monitoring plans, develop tools and guidance documents to facilitate risk assessment and ongoing monitoring, and identify when to escalate concerns to university leadership or members of the OGC.
• Reviewed and adjusted, as appropriate, portfolio of patents where one of the inventors had an undisclosed interest that could have impacted data interpretation.
• Advised an educational institution on the creation of a Biosafety Level-4 (BSL-4) laboratory—one of a small handful of such facilities in the United States—and worked with the institution on compliance with federal and state environmental assessment requirements under NEPA and MEPA.  We subsequently (and successfully) defended those assessments in separate actions in state and federal courts.
• Conducted internal investigation for an early-stage diagnostic testing company concerning allegations of potential misrepresentations to investors.
• Represented government entity in an internal investigation, forensic analysis, and litigation involving allegations of the alleged theft of confidential and proprietary information.
• Represented higher education client in highly publicized civil litigation related to a prominent university professor.
• Represented university medical center in internal investigation regarding university-affiliated program’s compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Represented academic research institute in connection with NIH inquiry into allegations of improper conduct by principal investigators on multiple NIH grants. Representation involved submissions to NIH and negotiation of related material transfer agreement.

Environment, Infrastructure & Construction

• Advise liberal arts colleges and private secondary schools on the full range of environmental compliance matters, including state brownfields regulations, wetlands permitting, and lead abatement obligations.
• Negotiated multiple complex land use agreements with state and local governments on behalf of an urban independent secondary school, unlocking major efficiencies in the use of their real property assets and the creation of innovative shared services agreements.
• Advised Boston University in connection with state and federal environmental compliance requirements relating to the development of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories in Boston’s South End, as well as resolving construction-related disputes involving contractors, suppliers, design professionals, and insurers.  
• Obtained comprehensive zoning relief for a leading Massachusetts private K-12 institution, which allowed the school to implement its long-range comprehensive master planning process.
• Assisted a major university in the acquisition of sites, permitting, and construction of new facilities.

Legislative & Regulatory Strategies

• Represented leading for-profit colleges and universities in developing and implementing comprehensive legislative and regulatory strategies with respect to federal efforts to limit institutional eligibility for federal financial aid.
• Provide legislative policy guidance and strategic planning for regular education and special education clients, including the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf.
• Represent prospective charter schools in the development of charter application proposals and in navigating the state chartering process.
• Represent prospective private schools in the development of private school application materials and the school committee approval process.
• Advise institutions on the proprietary school licensure process in Massachusetts and related compliance issues.

Intellectual Property

• Represent companies in-licensing IP from academic institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), as well as represent institutions (including Harvard Medical School, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Tufts University) out-licensing intellectual property.
• Manage numerous polymer and organic chemistry, biotechnology, and electrical and mechanical patent portfolios for New England, Midwestern, Southeastern, and California research universities.
• Created comprehensive copyright policies for colleges and universities, covering such matters as compliance with the TEACH Act, appropriate uses of copyrighted materials in teaching, and use of copyrighted materials in university libraries.
• Represented the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in federal court action brought by Max Planck Institute and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals against three co-owners of patent applications directed to therapeutic uses of RNA interference. Obtained judgment in favor of UMass on all damages claims.