Education

Educational institutions turn to Hecker Fink to tackle their most important matters. Our lawyers recognize the unique challenges that educational institutions face—especially in today’s rapidly shifting legal and political environment. We also understand that the relationships among a college or university’s administration, its trustees, its faculty, its students, its alumni, its regulators, and its peer institutions create a set of considerations that are meaningfully different from those of companies and other non-profit organizations.  Our team combines litigation and investigation expertise with trusted judgment to guide our education clients as they confront complex challenges.

Hecker Fink lawyers regularly help our education clients navigate cutting-edge legal issues in a variety of settings and jurisdictions. We have extensive experience advising and representing educational institutions at every stage of litigation, in both federal and state courts, including matters focused on Title VI, Title IX, employment, student misconduct, and athletics. We have litigated many matters in emergency postures and have defended our clients’ successes on appeal. The firm has also advised educational institutions in confidentially settling threatened claims, avoiding public litigation altogether.

Our lawyers are experienced investigators, assisting our education clients with sensitive internal and external investigations. The firm has represented universities in addressing a wide range of investigations by federal agencies and prosecutorial offices, including the U.S. Department of Justice, various United States Attorney’s Offices, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and various grantmaking components of the federal government.  We also have helped educational institutions respond to congressional inquiries in a manner that mitigates institutional risk while advancing our clients’ objectives.

In addition to our work on litigation and investigations, the firm is frequently retained to provide strategic advice to higher education clients. We have advised universities on issues including executive orders, presidential memoranda, the False Claims Act, Title VI, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, freedom of expression, LGBTQ+ rights, employment matters, and other topics arising under local, state, and federal law. We render advice with sensitivity to the unique considerations and constituencies in higher education settings, and we are highly familiar with compliance projects, crisis response representations, and coordinating with government affairs teams.

The firm is recognized among the top firms in the nation for Education by Chambers and Legal 500.  Hecker Fink Partner Gabrielle Tenzer has been cited as one of the top higher education lawyers in the country by Chambers and was named by Litigation Daily as a “Litigator of the Week” runner-up for her success in defending a university in an athletics-related lawsuit.  The firm was also recognized in Law 360’s Legal Lions of the Week for its success in defending a law school's leading academic journal from claims that it intended to discriminate in its selection process, following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Hecker Fink has represented colleges and universities across every geographical region of the country.

Representative Matters

Government Investigations

• Represented multiple universities in investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division and Civil Rights Division, various United States Attorney’s Offices, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including investigations involving Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, admissions, and the False Claims Act.
• Represented the superintendent of a major school district in connection with testimony before a congressional committee.

Internal Investigations

• Conducted an investigation into gender equity issues at a member-led organization’s athletics championships, producing two reports describing various gender disparities in connection with championships in 24 different sports across three separate divisions.
• Conducted multiple internal investigations at educational institutions, investigating allegations of hiring discrimination, policy violations related to admissions, and gender-based misconduct by faculty and administrators.

Discrimination Matters

• Represented universities in multiple Title VI-related litigations.
• Succeeded in having post-SFFA claims that a law school’s leading academic journal intended to discriminate in its selection process dismissed.
• Represented universities in Title IX litigation, often ending in early dismissals or resolution.
  • Obtained dismissal with prejudice of all Title IX claims brought by a student against a university in connection with allegations against the student that appeared on a Google spreadsheet.
  • Secured a settlement in one of the first Title IX athletics cases in the country, setting an August 2024 end date to the parties’ 1998 agreement, which the university noted had become “a significant obstacle to the University’s ability to offer women’s and men’s teams the competitive experience athletes deserve and expect.” Hecker Fink also successfully defended the settlement on appeal in the First Circuit.

Contract Matters

• Secured the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to reinstate a university's club squash teams to varsity status. The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case after the firm succeeded in defeating a motion for a preliminary injunction in federal district court.
• Secured one of the earliest dismissals in the nation of breach of contract and related claims seeking millions of dollars in tuition refunds related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment

• Represented and advised institutions of higher education in matters concerning allegations against, and the possible termination of, tenured faculty.
• Represented university clients in resolving threatened claims involving high-profile staff members whose employment had been terminated.

Student Discipline

• Succeeded in defeating claim that the temporary suspension of student groups who repeatedly held unauthorized protests in violation of university policy should be reversed.
• Obtained a dismissal of an Article 78 petition in New York State court challenging, among other things, the petitioner’s expulsion for hacking into another student’s email account.

Compliance and Strategic Advice

• Advised universities on compliance with presidential Executive Orders, Title IX and Title VI regulations and guidance, and conflict of interest and other internal policies.
• Counseled universities on compliance with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
• Advised universities on issues pertaining to faculty discipline and tenure; free speech, anti-discrimination, and student misconduct policies; charitable gifts; university health care systems; immigration; and other sensitive topics.
• Counseled universities on legal and practical issues related to the awarding, administration, and termination of federal grants and contracts.
• Provided advice to multiple universities regarding compliance with and potential exposure under the False Claims Act.

Criminal Matters and Advice

• Advised universities on compliance with criminal subpoenas.
• Challenged federal grand jury subpoenas on the grounds that they were issued for improper purposes.
• Provided strategic advice and outreach on behalf of a university to law enforcement agencies.