
Higher Education Institutions
Today’s colleges and universities face a diverse set of legal challenges. Our experienced higher education lawyers provide a wide range of legal services to address these challenges, drawing on broad experience gained over decades of counseling institutions of higher education in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Our clients range from regional community colleges to large research universities with complex international operations.
Our lawyers take a multidisciplinary approach to higher education issues. They have experience handling the diverse legal needs that often arise at the university level. We handle the ever-evolving technology and intellectual property-related issues that colleges face. Our lawyers also have experience providing counsel on investments, governance, tax, insurance, and public policy. We help institutions with the range of matters that are unique to them, including providing advice related to academic medical centers and intercollegiate athletics. Our higher education attorneys also deal with health and safety, public policy and lobbying, e-commerce, and fundraising and endowments, among other matters.
In addition, we also are particularly focused on providing counsel to higher education institutions regarding the following areas:
- Intellectual property and technology transfer
- International capabilities
- Government/regulatory matters
- Tax, employee benefits, and investments
Thought Leadership
On 22 December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments (the final rule) to Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) to modernize the regulation of investment adviser advertising and solicitation practices.
Following earlier announcements as to the efficacy of vaccine trials by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Inc. (Pfizer) and Moderna, Inc. on November 20, 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted applications for emergency use authorization to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their COVID-19 vaccinations.
On 7 January 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed two new rules designed to clarify the scope of incentives that employers may offer employees as part of a wellness program without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
The Australian Government has announced a number of changes to its migration policies in September in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This alert collates some of the recently announced changes that are most relevant to employers in Australia.