Listed as a go-to law firm for labor and employment in ALM's In-House Law Departments at the Top 500 Companies.
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Education / School Law
Whether it’s passing a new bond issue, negotiating a contract with teachers or other personnel, or managing responsibility for students, public educational institutions require the guidance of sound counsel. Representing public school districts and higher education institutions throughout the United States, Squire Sanders' comprehensive education practice encompasses public finance, labor and employment relations, special education, taxation, real estate, litigation, intellectual property, environmental and regulatory law.
We have represented public school districts since the beginning of the 20th century and continue to be on the cutting edge of public law issues as well as at the forefront in representing school districts in their dealings with teaching personnel, administrative staff and students. Areas of our noteworthy strengths include:
- Board organization/operations – ethics issues, sunshine laws, public records requests and the development/revision of board policies.
- Federal and state employment laws – Fair Labor Standards Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Title VII, Title IX, Americans With Disabilities Act, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, workers’ compensation, reductions-in force, health benefits, pensions/retirement plans, tax sheltered annuities, evaluations, employment contracts.
- Financing – counseling and supervision of proceedings for debt and lease-based financing of capital improvements and for cash-flow financings including state law, federal tax and securities law analysis and assistance. For the past five years, Thomson Financial Securities Data has ranked Squire Sanders among the top five bond counsel firms nationally in education finance.
- Labor relations and collective bargaining – employee grievances, arbitration, unfair labor practice claims, union negotiations, fact-findings and impasse/strike preparations.
- Acquisition and disposition of property – office equipment, energy conservation measures, and the leasing, purchase and sale of property.
- Special education law – counseling on compliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, attendance at Individualized Education Program meetings, mediations, and due process hearings, staff training, legislative involvement and court appeals.
- Student rights and responsibilities – custody, residency, transportation, discipline, student records/privacy, first amendment issues and tuition.
- Territory transfers – procedures for district reorganization including annexation, consolidation and transfer.
Our decades of experience also extend to higher education institutions, both as clients of the firm and in activities beyond the firm. For some clients we act as general counsel. We also have chaired and served on the boards of multiple private and public colleges and universities throughout the United States. Our extensive counseling experience includes:
- Board of trustee meetings, functions and resolutions
- Bond transactions
- Bylaws, faculty guidelines and administrative manuals
- Litigation over testamentary gifts
- Executive compensation
- Development, fundraising and implementation of gifts
- Taxation of income from ancillary sources
- Ownership and licensing of intellectual property
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Experienced lawyers recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2012 for education law.
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