Perkins Coie regularly advises leading universities, colleges, campus organizations, research institutes, and their presidents, administrators, and faculty members across the country on a broad range of legal matters, including some of the most sensitive and cutting-edge issues affecting higher education clients today.
Publications
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03.15.2024Implications From Denial of Certiorari in Race-Neutral Admissions CaseUpdatesThe U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in a much-scrutinized U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit case involving race-neutral school admissions procedures, Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County Board, on February 20, 2024.
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02.12.2024NCAA's Antitrust Litigation History Offers Clues For NIL CaseArticlesHenry Hauser, Jacinda Stephens, and Gabriel Tong authored an article for Law360 titled "NCAA's Antitrust Litigation History Offers Clues For NIL Case" that discusses a new antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA. The lawsuit aims to stop the enforcement of recruiting rules that restrict discussions about monetizing college athletes' name, image, and likeness, which could have significant implications for future challenges and changes in NCAA policies.
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11.30.2023Title IX Grievance Rules Raise Due Process QuestionsThe U.S. Department of Education's (DOE) 2022 proposed Title IX regulations were accompanied by confident claims that their impact would be nothing short of historic. After receiving over 239,000 comments, the DOE's anticipated release of the final rule in October has been delayed. The official reasons for the delay are a mystery, but the avalanche of comments has likely led the agency to reconsider important aspects of campus Title IX disciplinary hearings, somewhat awkwardly referred to as grievance procedures.
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09.08.2023With Race Gone as a Factor in Admissions, Is Student Athlete Status Next?ArticlesThe U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on universities’ affirmative action policies, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA), has garnered significant political, cultural, and media attention. The overall focus has centered on the decision’s determination that race can no longer be used as a factor to achieve diversity in university admissions. Less attention has been paid to the manner in which the winding trials and ensuing appellate process lifted the veil on college admissions and how various factors other than race, including legacy and athletic ability, tip the scales in admissions decisions.
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08.09.2023New Risk-Based Security Requirements for Federally Funded Research at US Institutions of Higher EducationUpdatesInternational cooperation and welcoming foreign academics are critical to the success and leadership of U.S. institutions of higher education. These interactions enhance fundamental scientific research and promote the American tradition of attracting scientific, technical, and cultural talent from around the world.
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07.05.2023Seven Pressing Questions Following the Supreme Court’s Admissions DecisionUpdatesOn June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in two cases challenging universities’ consideration of race as a factor in student admissions: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College; and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
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06.21.2023DOE Title IX Revamp of Campus Disciplinary Process Casts Wide NetArticles
Bloomberg Law
Perkins Coie’s Markus Funk analyzes the broad scope of the Department of Education’s proposed changes to Title IX’s implementing regulations, and effect finalized rules would have on campus disciplinary procedures. -
11.07.2022Affirmative Action: Six Employer Questions After the Supreme Court ArgumentsUpdatesOn October 31, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments in two landmark cases, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, arising out of the affirmative action policies of two elite university systems, Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC).
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09.29.2022Antitrust Suit Against Elite Universities Graduates to DiscoveryUpdates
As schools across the country welcome students back for the 2022-23 academic year, several prestigious universities are grappling with a civil antitrust suit that could have major ramifications for how they allocate and award financial aid.
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06.07.2022Forthcoming Disclosure and Security Requirements for Institutions Hosting Federally Funded ResearchUpdatesNational Security Presidential Memorandum-33 and implementation guidance from the National Science and Technology Council direct federal agencies to standardize and enhance disclosure and security requirements that apply to federally funded research and development.
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01.28.2022University of Colorado System Scores COVID-19 Property Insurance Coverage WinUpdatesA Colorado state court recently joined a growing chorus of courts across the country rejecting insurance companies’ arguments that there is no coverage for COVID-19-related losses and costs under commercial property insurance policies because COVID-19 cannot cause “physical loss or damage” to property as a matter of law.
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12.03.2020Higher Education Institutions May Be Back in the Department of Labor’s CrosshairsUpdatesThe gender equity movement focused higher education institutions on pay equality. For example, in 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the University of Denver alleging gender discrimination in professor compensation that resulted in the university paying $2.66 million to resolve the matter. Now, the recent racial justice movement has raised the stakes for these institutions.
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08.14.2020INSIGHT: These Defenses May Help Universities in COVID-19 LawsuitsArticlesAs colleges and universities reopen, the potential for another shutdown and lawsuits over refunds for tuition, fees, and health and safety looms.
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07.27.2020Higher Education COVID-19 Losses: Property and Business Interruption Insurance Policies Should Provide ReliefUpdatesDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions of higher education are facing significant revenue challenges and incurring extra expenses for which their insurance programs should provide relief.
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03.30.2020‘Varsity Blues’ One Year Later—Lessons for Higher Ed InvestigationsArticlesIt’s been one year since federal agents made dozens of arrests in the nationwide college admissions scandal. Funk and Trombino provide four guideposts to help colleges and universities needing to investigate allegations of misconduct steer themselves, and their communities, through such moments of crisis.
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02.27.2020US Department of Education Scrutinizes Foreign Investment Into Higher EducationUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently launched investigations into at least a half dozen top research institutions for failing to disclose foreign-sourced gifts or contracts.
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03.18.2019Higher Ed Admissions Scrutiny—The Road AheadUpdatesThe wave of federal charges against some fifty individuals for college admissions fraud and testing bribery schemes caught numerous universities and much of the United States by surprise.