Based out of Boston, the multidisciplinary education group at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP has demonstrable strength advising medical institutions and academic medical centers on sensitive investigations and internal reviews pertaining to alleged misconduct and federal grant misuse. Practice head Christine Savage remains a key name to note, having over two decades of experience advising healthcare related clients on reviews and compliance. Joan Lukey and Justin Wolosz bring high-stakes litigation expertise to the group and are the main points of contact for government investigations and litigation for higher education institutions on allegations of misconduct and sexual abuse by staff. Elsewhere, the group also has a foreign influence subgroup which deals with academic espionage and university ties to foreign governments. Alison Reif and Lyndsey Kruzer handle employment related issues, including terminations and disputes. Greg Keating has left the firm.

Fielding a coast-to-coast presence, Husch Blackwell LLP continues to be a market leader in education with demonstrable strength in Title IX independence reviews and investigations. Hayley Hanson leads the practice and handles sensitive investigations on sexual assault and racial discrimination in higher education institutions, having over two decades of experience in this area. She also has additional expertise in the Clery Act and Title IV Federal Student Aid matters. Litigator Derek Teeter represents colleges and universities in complex disputes, with a specialty in sexual misconduct, religious liberty and freedom of speech issues. In Austin, Scott Schneider is the name for employment related matters and institutional misconductIn Chicago, core members of the group include managing partner Julie Miceli who advises both private and public institutions on financial aid and charitable contributions, strengthened by her background as former general counsel for federal student aid at the US Department of Education, and Lisa Parker who has a health-care related education focus and a strong regulatory practice. Senior counsel Richard Goldstein in Boston is rated by peers and focuses on litigation for healthcare clients. The group has an active pro-bono practice advising prominent black institutions on additional federal funding. Lawyers are based in Kansas City unless otherwise stated.

Showcasing strength across high-stakes litigation for colleges and universities, the higher education practice at WilmerHale has a solid market reputation as a go-to firm for contentious mandates spanning gender-based and sexual misconduct, discrimination, and government investigations. Led out of Washington DC, the group has expertise handling Title IX, Title VI, and other federal anti-discrimination statues for educational clients, and is jointly managed by Bruce Berman and seasoned litigator Jamie Gorelick. Special counsel Tania Faransso represents universities ingovernment investigations, sensitive internal reviews related to Title IX and in various stages of litigation, including trial and appellate proceedings. In New York, Debo Adegbile now leads the firm’s anti-discrimination practice alongside Brenda Lee after the departure of Danielle Conley who is now Deputy Counsel to the President at the Office of the White House Counsel. The team also has a specialism advising on financial aid, federal grants, and advises universities on issues related to the misuse of research funds.

At Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, the education practice is now led by Michael Vernick and has a strong dispute resolution background across Title IX matters and misconduct issues. Based in Washington, DC, the practice works closely with its global investigations and compliance group on complex litigation and internal investigations for universities and healthcare sector clients. The team is also active in cyber security and data issues. Counsel Marta Thompson, who joined the team from Hogan Lovells US LLP in July 2021, has a specialism representing higher education institutions in foreign influence investigations. In New York, Estela Diaz handles investigations in relation to misconduct and is a credited Title IX investigator.

Based in Boston, the multidisciplinary higher education practice at Goodwin is frequently instructed by leading schools and colleges on the full range of matters, with strength in investigations. The team is noted for its strong litigation background and includes key names such as Jennifer Chunias who holds various education instructions and private healthcare companies as key clients. On the white-collar defense side, Joseph Savage  is the main contact, specializing in complex civil litigation for individuals. The team has sector strength across IP and has bolstered its cyber security and privacy offering with the arrival of partner Boris Segalis from Cooley LLP in early 2021.

The education team at Hogan Lovells US LLP has extensive experience handling investigations, regulatory matters and litigation with a strong bench  based in Washington DC. The group is co-led by head of global education Stephanie Gold and is active in the academic medical center space advising on regulatory changes, acquisitions, and reorganizations. Immigration matters, foreign influence issues and Title IX work also feature in the workload. Co-head William Ferreira, who also leads the firms global public procurement practice, handles international work for universities expanding into the Asian and Middle Eastern markets, as well as advising on online education programs. Also in the team is counsel Joel Buckman who focuses on regulatory compliance for a range of education institutions and is the name for employment related issues. The Houston team has been bolstered with the arrival of Andrew Strong and Barry Burgdorf; both served as former general counsel for research universities and have expertise acting for public and private academic institutions.

At King & Spalding LLP, the higher education practice group brings together a strong bench across government investigations and healthcare to handle work in the academic medical center space. Now jointly led by managing partner of the Chicago office Zach Fardon and trial lawyer Andy Bayman in Atlanta, the team retains its expertise in accreditation matters for colleges and high-stakes whistleblower litigation. Also in Atlanta, Tish McDonald represents non-profits and higher education institutions in complex litigation, and specializes in fiduciary litigation. Former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins in Chicago has experience handling internal investigations. In Washington, DC, Mark Polston and Daniel Hettich are the key contacts for medical center matters. Floyd Newton has now retired.

McGuireWoods LLP represents public and private colleges, universities, K-12 schools and academic medical centers across the full range of education law matters. Managed by Harrison Marshall in North Carolina, the team has been strengthened with the April 2021 arrival of litigator Farnaz Thompson from the U.S Department of Education in Washington DC. The practice has extensive experience handling government investigations before federal agencies, representing education institutions in employment related litigation and Title IX compliance work. Also in North Carolina, Mary Nash Rusher is the name for tax-exempt financing transactions for K-12 schools. In Virginia, Michele McKinnon has great experience advising public schools on tax and governance matters, while litigator Micah Schwartz defends colleges and universities in Title IX lawsuits.

Primarily based out of Washington DC, the practice at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP is now jointly managed by litigator Arthur Coleman  and Scott Palmer, and has a strong record acting in complex litigation and transactional matters. The group is well-versed in advising education boards and colleges on gender and sexual misconduct issues, including sexual harassment. Daniel Cohen in Atlanta is a key name, and has significant experience in gender issues, maintaining a busy pro-bono practice for student sexual assault survivors. Contacts in Atlanta also include Marquetta Bryan who litigates for schools on discrimination work. The firm’s affiliate consulting group EducationCounsel LLC remains active in policy for non-profit clients and academic institutions. Former co-head of the team Nina Gupta as well as Suzann Wilcox, both in Altanta, left the firm for Parker Poe in March 2022.

At Norton Rose Fulbright, the higher education practice group is singled out for its strength in medical education and holds leading national schools as key clients. Head of the healthcare group and practice co-chair Stacey Murphy in St. Louis advises hospitals and academic medical centers on corporate governance issues and regulatory work, whilst Andrew Roth ,who leads the healthcare practice in New York, is the name for billion-dollar transactional mandates and is recommended for accreditation matters – compliance with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education remains a specialty. Practice co-chair Douglas Fried on the East Coast leads the infrastructure team and advises universities on P3 projects. In Texas, key contacts include Jerry Bell and senior counsel Jennifer McDaniel, who focuses on healthcare regulatory work. On the employment side, Mario A Barrera in San Antonio handles gender discrimination and sexual harassment matters.