Educational Institutions Investigations
McGuireWoods is a nationally recognized leader in representing and serving as a trusted adviser to educational institutions, including public, private, and proprietary colleges and universities; K-12 schools; charter schools; school boards; academic medical centers; foundations and endowments.
Educational institutions are unique. Each school operates as a microcosm with different factions — including students, professors, administrators and other employees — and varied aspects to campus life such as academics, research, sports, housing and student organizations to name a few. With such breadth in this highly regulated industry, educational institutions face significant challenges on numerous fronts when issues arise necessitating internal investigations or responses to government investigations. From sexual assault allegations to Title IX litigation to inquiries into compliance with state and federal regulations, McGuireWoods helps educational institutions through their most trying moments.
We have deep experience conducting internal reviews and investigations and audits and responding to government inquiries on behalf of educational institutions. Regardless of the conduct alleged, McGuireWoods deftly handles government investigations by federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and Federal Student Aid, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the U.S. Department of Justice.
As part of the firm’s elite Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Practice Group — twice recognized as a Law360 Practice Group of the Year — the educational institutions investigations team assists clients navigating the challenging investigations process. Whether the concern involves an issue raised by a student privately to an administrator or a highly publicized government investigation, we gauge the potential legal and reputational consequences, conduct thorough investigations, and counsel clients on how to resolve issues positively while avoiding damaging missteps.
Our team also helps clients limit collateral consequences by developing strategies to reduce and address private litigation and potential criminal exposure. In collaboration with McGuireWoods’ strategic risk and corporate compliance program counseling team, we also manage ancillary issues associated with educational investigations, including board of trustee relations, media inquiries and other crisis management matters.
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McGuireWoods knows the education sector from every angle. The educational institutions investigations team includes a former U.S. Department of Education deputy general counsel for postsecondary education; former state secretaries of education; a former chairman of a state council on higher education; a former in-house counsel of a public flagship four-year research university; a member of a state governor and lieutenant governor’s higher education transition group; former administrators of several colleges and universities; and current and former chairs and members of public and private college boards of trustees and current and former rectors of colleges and universities around the country.
