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 1 March 2024, the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama issued an opinion holding, on summary judgment, the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, 6 March 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved its highly anticipated final rules on “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” by a vote of 3-2, with Republican Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda dissenting.
On 30 January 2024, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule (Final Rule) increasing the premium processing fee from US$2,500 to US$2,805, increasing filing fees for I-129 and I-140 employment-based petitions, and imposing a new Asylum Program Fee for each Form I-129 and I-140 filed by employers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released its compliance and enforcement priorities for 2024-25, with ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb expanding on the Commission's key areas of focus in her address to the Committee for Economic Development.