Education

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In an increasingly complex and constantly evolving landscape, our education industry group is uniquely positioned to partner with our education clients to navigate the legal, regulatory, and societal challenges that they face.

Overview

As a full-service law firm, we bring a cross-practice industry team of lawyers who deeply understand the intricate frameworks governing education, research, and healthcare. Our clients are public and private universities, colleges, schools, scientific research institutes, EdTech companies, incubators and accelerators, and affiliated entities. We are lawyers who serve our clients as strategic partners by addressing issues spanning governance, regulatory and compliance, tax, labor, employment, corporate and finance, intellectual property, data privacy and security, land use and real estate, and litigation.

Our lawyers are committed to supporting educational institutions across a range of issues with our client-focused approach and our significant legal expertise, which, in many cases, has been developed through direct experience working in-house at educational organizations. Our team includes lawyers who held roles at major public, private, and government institutions, including University of California, University of Southern California, University of Alaska, U.S. Department of Education, and University of Hawai'i. This gives us a unique insight into the demands on in-house counsel and other administrators facing heightened public scrutiny, multifaceted regulations, and increasing government enforcement, while needing to deliver upon mission-critical imperatives. Our team provides the expertise, judgment, relationship-building skills, practical solutions, and strategies required to address routine and complex issues so that educational institutions can achieve their crucial goals.

Areas of Focus

We have teams of lawyers with deep experience serving educational organizations in the following areas: 

Cyber Security & Data Privacy

  • Advising on compliance with data privacy and security laws and regulations such as FERPA, HIPAA, GLBA, GDPR, and state laws.
  • Developing and implementing incident response plans, conducting tabletop exercises, and provide real-time support during data breaches.
  • Offering comprehensive post-incident services, including incident response and investigation, breach notification, regulatory reporting, and litigation defense.
  • EdTech issues including FERPA, COPPA, state student privacy laws, and DPAs.
  • Advising on all aspects of employee benefit plans, both retirement and health and welfare.
  • Advising on executive employment agreements.
  • Structuring public-private partnerships and financing arrangements, including joint ventures.
  • Advising on charitable giving, endowment and investment management, compliance with and release of donor restrictions in gift instruments.
  • Spinouts and outbound licenses that transform university-developed technology into venture-backed enterprises.
  • Board governance.
  • Assisting educational institutions in securing visas for international students and scholars, ensuring compliance with immigration regulations, and facilitating smooth transitions for academic pursuits.
  • Providing guidance on employment-based immigration for educational staff, including H-1B and J-1 visas, helping institutions attract and retain global talent.
  • Counseling on immigration policy and compliance, helping educational institutions navigate complex legal landscapes and mitigate risks associated with international hiring and student enrollment.
  • Advising and counseling related to patents, trademarks, copyrights, NIL, and trade secrets, including copyright fair use issues.
  • Advising university presses, libraries, and drama schools on content-related issues including defamation, copyright, and publishing law.
  • Providing comprehensive legal counsel to ensure EdTech companies comply with federal and state education regulations and industry standards, while effectively managing associated risks.
  • Ensuring compliance with OFAC, BIS, and DDTC regulations by conducting thorough risk assessments and implementing tailored compliance programs.
  • Providing guidance on international transactions to ensure adherence to U.S. sanctions and export laws and avoid potential penalties.
  • Developing and delivering training programs for staff to enhance understanding of OFAC, BIS, and DDTC requirements and sanctions compliance obligations.
  • Advice concerning the applicability of U.S. trade sanctions and export controls to foreign students and faculty members, and potential technology transfers to such persons.
  • Advice regarding participation in international standards setting activities and conferences that implicates compliance with international trade and national security laws.
  • Counseling regarding compliance with registration and related requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
  • Advising on faculty and staff employment matters, including recruitment, and hiring, immigration, restructuring, layoffs, and wage-and-hour and employment law compliance.  
  • Representation concerning union organizing and defense of unfair labor practice charges, including navigation of issues concerning student workers and post-doctoral scholars.
  • Negotiation of and advice concerning interpretation and enforcement of labor agreements, including for graduate worker and faculty bargaining units.
  • Drafting and review of offer letters, employment or appointment contracts, personnel policies, staff, and faculty handbooks.
  • Providing training and guidance on topics such as workplace safety and prevention of discrimination and harassment.
  • Conducting workplace investigations.
  • Developing policies for hybrid and digital learning environments.
  • Representation in litigation, arbitration, and mediation.
  • Crisis management and resolution of disputes related to governance, student conduct, and academic freedom.
  • Providing counsel related to matters involving free speech policies and compliance with First Amendment rights, defending against litigation challenging university speech and academic freedom, and opposing related regulatory threats and government censorship of campus affairs.
  • Providing counsel on structuring and negotiating mergers and acquisitions, including in connection with spinouts from universities transactions for academic medical centers, joint ventures between universities and others, strategic transactions for education nonprofits, and M&A transactions for EdTechs, ensuring that educational institutions achieve strategic objectives.
  • Conducting thorough due diligence to identify potential liabilities and compliance issues, helping education sector clients make informed decisions and maintain regulatory compliance throughout the transaction process.
  • Assisting with the seamless post-merger integration of entities and addressing legal, operational, and cultural challenges to ensure a successful transition and realization of synergies.
  • Counseling on matters related to campus development, construction, and zoning, including obligations vis-à-vis local tribes and tribal lands.
  • Assisting with lease negotiations, property acquisitions, and sustainability initiatives.
  • Advising on structuring and negotiating real estate investments to maximize returns and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
  • Counseling related to federal and state laws, including FERPA, Title IV, Title IX, ADA, the Clery Act, and sexual misconduct investigations.
  • Advising on race-conscious admissions and faculty diversity.
  • Guiding on sponsored research compliance, including compliance with federal and state grant and contract rules.
  • Assisting with financial aid regulations and campus safety.
  • Counseling related to proceedings for academic and non-academic misconduct, student health, counseling and safety, free speech, and plagiarism.
  • Forming and structuring tax-exempt organizations, including educational institutions and related nonprofits (e.g., fundraising and auxiliary entities, incubators and accelerators, and spinoff entities) to align with legal requirements and organizational goals.
  • Providing guidance related to obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status and strategic counsel and services to optimize financial operations, including identifying and managing unrelated business income and endowment spending, and navigating complex tax issues specific to exempt organizations (e.g., political activities and lobbying, joint ventures with for-profit institutions, and international operations).
  • Advising on corporate governance and state laws and regulations (e.g., nonprofit corporation statutes, charitable trust law, and UPMIFA), including conflicts of interest and related party transactions, and representing educational institutions before state attorneys general and preparing and filing cy-près petitions.
  • Drafting and negotiating major gifts, including for endowments and other complex provisions, and advising generally on gifts versus sponsored research.
  • Advising on technology transfer and licensing.
  • Providing strategic guidance in the development and deployment of frontier AI technologies and systems, such as generative AI models, computer vision, natural language processing, predictive analytics, and robotics and ethical use and deployment of artificial intelligence.
  • Assistance with compliance with federal communications laws that regulate, e.g., licensing of campus radio and television stations, business microwave facilities, satellite earth stations, and other communications equipment and services.
  • Counseling about healthcare regulatory compliance and operational matters for university health systems, including assisting universities in navigating complex healthcare regulations, including, but not limited to, licensure and certification matters, Medicare and Medicaid billing rules, fraud and abuse matters, payment matters and payor contracting, telehealth regulations, compliance with the No Surprises Act, corporate practice of medicine issues, the use of ancillary providers, and medical staff matters.
  • Representation in transactions and affiliations, including shepherding the parties through regulatory notice and approval processes, such as state attorney general reviews.
  • Representation in administrative, civil and criminal litigation and investigations, including those involving payment disputes, fraud and abuse, and other enforcement matters.
Cyber Security and Data Privacy

Why Choose DWT?

At DWT, we understand the complexities of the education sector and offer initiative-taking, strategic counsel to help clients navigate challenges and seize opportunities. Our multidisciplinary approach ensures that we deliver tailored solutions, allowing institutions to focus on their missions.

Contact Us

Davis Wright Tremaine is dedicated to empowering educational institutions. Whether you are facing regulatory challenges, planning strategic growth, including innovation and commercialization of research, or managing complex disputes, our team is here to help.