Investigations

• Serving as lead outside counsel to Harvard University in connection with its review of Jeffrey Epstein’s giving and other institutional connections. 

• 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

• Advise colleges, universities, and secondary schools on admission and recruitment policies, including drafting comprehensive compliance programs to ensure adherence with court rulings on affirmative action and related issues.

• Represent institutions in sex, race, and disability discrimination cases filed by students and employees.

• Filed amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (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.

Litigation

• Defending Northeastern University in COVID-related tuition class actions brought by undergraduate students.

• 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Court overturning approval by the state Attorney General of a proposed statewide ballot question that would have repealed the Common Core education standards in Massachusetts.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

• Represent colleges and universities in relationships with unions, including experience with faculty unions.

• Successfully defended a university professor in a National Science Foundation investigation of alleged research fraud.

• Secured summary judgment on behalf of Harvard University of an allegation that a former faculty member was wrongfully denied tenure, and obtained unanimous affirmance from the First Circuit.

• 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 secondary schools.

• Assist numerous Massachusetts charter schools on matters of institutional governance and compliance with state statutes and regulations.

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.

• 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.