Higher Education

Bond’s collegiate sports practice is an industry leader, representing over 200 clients in traditional NCAA regulatory matters; the implementation of House v. NCAA Settlement terms and its related enforcement, resolution and arbitration processes; and the proactive development of systems needed to comply with new rules and frameworks relating to roster limits and student-athlete name, image and likeness (NIL). Bond’s team can also negotiate collegiate multimedia, coaching and athletic administrator employment contracts.

Bond attorneys also regularly assist colleges in conducting athletic program reviews to ensure compliance with Title IX equity issues between women’s and men’s sports and represent institutions in Office for Civil Rights investigations into the same. One member of our team successfully represented a Big Ten university during an eight-year-long gender equity compliance review of its entire athletics program. Bond attorneys have managed the collection and review of information from major athletics programs, including facilities, budgets, publicity materials, enrollment information and team eligibility lists, to assess and advise on compliance concerns.

Further to our experience in the field, a Bond attorney serves as an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an international body for sports-related disputes, and was a Court of Arbitration arbitrator at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. She also serves as an arbitrator and on adjudicative panels for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

Bond has played a major role in the development of complex facilities for educational institutions, ranging from high-technology centers and research parks, to a major domed stadium and hotel, to the development of cogeneration facilities for furnishing steam to two universities and neighboring facilities. In this area of the law, we regularly work with architects, engineers, and design professionals, as well as owners, financial institutions, contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and manufacturers. We draft contracts, purchase orders, project manuals, requests for proposals, performance and labor and material payment bonds, change orders and all of the other documents needed for projects to proceed in a timely manner and within cost estimates. When disputes arise, we assist in negotiations, or represent the client in litigation, arbitration, or other dispute resolution.

Illustrative of the scope of our experience and services, we provided the legal services in connection with the planning, financing and construction of Syracuse University's Carrier Dome, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Technology Park, and numerous co-generation projects, including a $120,000,000 facility, constructed at developer's cost, furnishing steam for Syracuse University and adjacent colleges and hospitals.

Our general business projects range from contract drafting, review and negotiation to unrelated business income tax issues; from nonprofit corporation law matters to insurance and risk management concerns. We support the full range of business needs facing higher education institutions, from day-to-day contracts to transformational projects. We have unique expertise in mergers, acquisitions and other collaborations between higher education institutions; we can provide not only the traditional transactional support needed, but can also advise on all of the steps needed for accreditation and regulatory approval and represent institutions before these oversight bodies. 

Our experience in the field gives us particular advantage in many of the major vendor contracts common across higher education — we provide advice on specific vendors’ terms and conditions informed by our repeat experience across the table from these vendors.

Some significant matters include:

• Represented institutions in connection with the spin-off of academic units to form new freestanding institutions.
• In a first-of-its-kind scenario, represented an out-of-state Research 1 institution (Northeastern University) as it combined with a New York institution (Marymount Manhattan College), requiring almost daily negotiations with the New York State Department of Education and Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
• Handled all legal work related to the relocation of a college from Long Island to Upstate New York, including the successful defense of an action to enjoin relocation.
• Reviewed and negotiated over 80 vendor and affiliation contracts in four-month timespan across university units as part of recent interim general counsel role.
• Secured unprecedented Attorney General approvals of the release of restrictions on endowment funds for multiple financially distressed institutions in order to facilitate a path to sustainability.
• Secured IRS approval that funds from industrial corporations under research contracts were for “research” and not unrelated business income.
• Involved in numerous co-generation projects, including a $120 million facility, constructed at developer's cost, furnishing steam for adjacent colleges and hospitals.
• Reorganized separate medical college and hospital corporations into a major academic medical center under direction and control of an umbrella entity.
• Obtained a landmark unrelated business income tax ruling requiring IRS to allocate institution's expenses of facility or property leased to others in proportion to days of actual total use, rather than 365 days in year.

Our attorneys are zealous advocates who also understand the particular sensitivity that can be involved when universities find themselves in litigation with members of their community. We believe the best litigation is one that never comes to fruition and provide practical advice to de-escalate disputes. And, where appropriate, we work with clients to meet their goals in mediated settlements, including in high-profile, high-demand cases. Our major areas of defense include:

• Countless successful defenses of Article 78 petitions challenging disciplinary decisions, typically brought by students.
• Countless successful defenses of discrimination complaints under all civil rights laws, brought by students and employees.
• Victories in major, multimillion-dollar class actions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of our litigators are dedicated members of the firm’s higher education practice, and our core higher education team includes litigators in their own right — including with judicial clerkship experience — which informs the strategic and proactive advice we provide to avoid litigation. And in situations where litigation is inevitable, our teams provide advice to ensure that the university’s actions stand on as solid ground as possible, legally and in the court of public opinion.  

Our team is accustomed to working with insurers, and we are approved panel counsel for many common insurance providers in the higher education space. We diligently handle all billing and status reports. We have experience managing large dockets of litigation and providing status updates at appropriate intervals and depth to leadership, audit committees and boards.

Bond’s employee benefits and executive compensation practice group regularly works with college and university clients to provide advice and counsel regarding all aspects of employee benefit administration. One of the hallmarks of the group is providing timely, practical advice on the day-to-day administration issues that frequently arise in this area of the law. In addition, we have experience with the novel issues arising with employee groups seeking and receiving employee benefits, such as graduate students, nontraditional faculty and adjunct employees. We regularly work with third-party service providers, negotiating contracts and agreements and addressing benefit issues as they arise.

We can provide advice and counsel to the University’s retirement plan committee regarding plan governance and fiduciary risk management issues, assist with the development of early retirement programs to address workforce issues and help navigate the complicated issues that arise under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code and other federal and state laws that impact the University’s benefit plans on a daily basis. Attorneys on our team have worked directly with board chairs in the negotiation of presidential and other executive contracts.

Our experience in the higher education area extends to all types of retirement and welfare benefit plans and arrangements, including:

• defined contribution retirement plans (including 403(b) plans)
• defined benefit retirement plans
• non-qualified plans/arrangements (including 457(b) plans and 457(f) arrangements)
• contract provisions for executives and coaches
• health plans
• employee assistance plans
• group term life insurance plans
• severance pay plans
• cafeteria plans
• health and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• retiree medical, dental and life insurance plans
• early retirement incentive programs
• transportation benefits (including benefits for visa-holder employees)
• tuition reduction plans
• educational assistance plans

The past several years have been defined by an intense focus on the intersection between free speech and an institution’s need to maintain an educational environment free from harassment and discrimination. Private institutions sit in a particularly complex space within this nexus — while not legally required to follow the First Amendment and permit all manner of speech, many institutions aspire to or have, by matter of policy, incorporated First Amendment principles into their culture. Effective counseling in this space requires a deep understanding of the political context and the ability to present numerous options and explain their attendant risks.

Our experience includes:

• Counseling and representing institutions involved in litigation and investigations by U.S. Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Justice and New York State Division of Human Rights on issues involving antisemitic, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and Islamophobic discrimination.
• Drafting and revising nondiscrimination, event and guest speaker and time/place/manner policies, including numerous student- and community-facing communications to promote compliance with such rules during protests.
• Advising leadership, conduct administrators and nondiscrimination offices on particular conduct cases and the legal standards under which they may be challenged, including as applied to student groups.
• Assisting institutions in navigating claims of academic freedom in turbulent situations, including advice as to the boundaries of academic freedom and its differences compared to free speech for both faculty and students.
• Assisting institution in creating first-of-its kind position for Title VI coordinator role, ahead of New York mandate for such a role.
• Creating and disseminating mandatory, universitywide nondiscrimination trainings.
• Developing and advising on numerous proactive strategies to address and prevent legal concerns.

We regularly provide legal and counseling services to board members, presidents, chief operating and financial officers, academic administrators, communications and governmental relations teams, human resources staff, student affairs professionals, facilities teams, campus safety leaders, compliance offices and more. 

Our board experience includes providing advice and counsel on high-profile matters, regularly preparing and presenting both routine and special reports to boards and committees, advising on bylaws and meeting procedures, drafting resolutions, ensuring appropriate fiduciary policies are in place and more. 

We are trusted counselors to presidents and senior leadership, regularly participating in leadership and cabinet meetings, providing sound judgment and risk assessments on both issues and opportunities. Several team members have served directly on senior leadership teams. We outline options and their impact, brainstorm solutions and help build consensus. Our experience makes us strong issue spotters, ready to run down answers with experts on our team. We see institutions through crises, working hand-in-hand with communications experts, including outside public and governmental affairs professionals. And we have helped navigate obstacles to ensure institutions can smoothly execute major priorities and initiatives. Examples of recent high-profile, mission-critical work by lawyers on our team include:

• Advising on all aspects of response to post-October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and impact on campus life, including development of industry-leading comprehensive response plan and coordination of legal defense of Title VI lawsuit, including negotiating in successful mediation in partnership with board chair and president.
• Providing legal considerations for post-COVID reopening planning, including advising on health and safety protocols; vaccine mandate and exemption processes; and managing class actions seeking tuition and fee refunds due to transition to remote work.
• Providing legal advice in preparation for, and in the aftermath of, the ban on race-conscious admissions decision, and related advice and service on working group on strategies to maintain diversity, equity and inclusion work in a meaningful and lawful manner.
• Advising senior leadership and strategizing with communications professionals during strike action by adjunct faculty.

Academic Affairs

Our academic affairs work includes the development and review of academic policies and faculty handbooks; counsel to faculty committees charged with conducting hearings for faculty grievances; review of promotion, tenure and nonrenewal cases; the termination of academic programs; the development of compliance programs to address federal regulatory demands; and representation of institutions in accreditation inquiries, appeals and hearings.

Student Affairs

Our student affairs practice touches every aspect of student life, from issues arising out of housing, dining, enrollment management, financial aid, student conduct and student-on-student discrimination, religious life, student health and wellness, accommodations, academic integrity, alumni, career services, programs for minors and more. Our advice helps school staff feel supported and confident, whether they are navigating difficult situations, designing opportunities for students or proactively managing risk.

Immigration compliance requires more than familiarity with statutes and regulations; it demands continuous monitoring of policy shifts, agency adjudication trends and evolving best practices. We provide strategic guidance on regulatory compliance, internal policies, training programs and recordkeeping procedures and frequently appear before U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State and the Department of Labor.

Employment

Our immigration team provides comprehensive support on all employment-based immigration matters, including the full range of nonimmigrant and immigrant processes such as H-1B, H-1B1, E-1, E-2, E-3, O-1, TN and other visa classifications, as well as permanent residence sponsorship (including PERM labor certification, Form I-140 immigrant petitions and related adjustment or consular processes). We understand the unique environment in which schools operate and we work closely with institutions to ensure smooth onboarding and retention of international faculty, researchers and staff.

Beyond the core employment-based immigration matters we handle, we also advise clients on a broad array of immigration-related issues essential to workforce management, including:

• Recruiting and retaining foreign talent.
• I-9 compliance and audits.
• Regulatory compliance and risk mitigation.
• Avoidance of immigration-related discrimination.
• Development of immigration policies and procedures.
• Creation of global mobility guidelines and processes.
• Conducting workplace investigations with immigration implications.

International Students

Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) compliance is central to an institution’s ability to enroll and support international students. Accurate and timely SEVIS reporting protects the school’s certification and ensures students maintain valid immigration status. We assist institutions in understanding their SEVIS obligations, identifying potential compliance vulnerabilities and responding effectively to government inquiries or unexpected issues. Our team monitors regulatory developments affecting the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and SEVIS and provides proactive guidance to help the institution anticipate risk, maintain system integrity and navigate changes in policy or practice with confidence.

While the Designated School Official manages day-to-day F-1 student processing, we remain available to advise on complex issues, such as consular delays, travel complications, status-maintenance questions or policy changes that affect SEVP-regulated programs.

At Bond, we cultivate a unique synergy between our labor and employment practice and our higher education group, with attorneys offering deep experience in both areas. All core members of the higher education practice group have direct experience navigating employment and labor issues, whether through their own direct experience in-house at institutions of higher education or with the firm’s esteemed labor and employment group. 

Labor

The firm’s labor practice encompasses a full range of services. This includes collective bargaining, labor arbitration and representation before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) — or the appropriate public or state labor relations board — in both improper labor practice and representation matters. For many clients involved in collective bargaining, one of our attorneys is present at the bargaining table and serves as chief spokesperson; for others we are present during negotiations as a resource but not as a chief negotiator; for still others we counsel behind-the-scenes, draft and cost proposals and work with the management team to formulate a cohesive and effective bargaining strategy. We tailor our approach by institution and even by contract, and we also provide advice in responding to union organizing campaigns.

Similarly, with respect to labor arbitrations, our services complement the institution's labor relations and human resources teams. We can provide a range of services, from counseling on the appropriate grievance answer at the initial steps to the preparation of witnesses and presentation of the institution's case before an arbitrator. We can also provide behind-the-scenes approaches and strategies and aid in the preparation of witnesses.

Our higher education labor practice dates back to the earliest days of the NLRB asserting jurisdiction over colleges and universities. From representing Ithaca College in one of the seminal Yeshiva cases to present day graduate student organizing and bargaining, a sampling of our matters include:

• Representation of Cornell in its recent bargaining and strike with the UAW;
• Representation of The New School in bargaining and strike activity with its graduate student union;
• Representation of multiple institutions with adjunct faculty organizing and first contract negotiations;
• Representation of multiple institutions with public safety and police unions in contract negotiations and contract implementation matters;
• Representation of university-owned ancillary medical clinics for the University of Rochester; and
• All manner of labor arbitration proceedings involving contract interpretation and disciple grievances.

Employment

Our practice not only deals with traditional areas of labor law, but also with the full range of employment law matters. For non-unionized portions of the workforce, our attorneys provide assistance in the preparation and review of handbooks and policies; appointment letters; employment contracts; counseling on employee screening and testing; supervisory training; and advising on termination and grievance procedures.

This practice includes state and federal court representation of colleges and universities in breach of contract, employment-at-will and other employment-related claims. It also includes defending institutions before state and federal administrative agencies — including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state and local analogs — and in courts, against claims of discrimination. We also regularly assist colleges and universities in the preparation of affirmative action plans and programs and provide representation during audits and investigations by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Finally, our attorneys are experienced in the full range of other workforce issues likely to be encountered by colleges and universities, including faculty tenure and contract disputes, pay equity claims, state and federal wage/hour matters, OSHA investigations and hearings and immigration matters.

Highlights of our practice include:

• Successful representation in numerous internal and judicial review (state and federal trial and appellate courts) proceedings involving tenure denial, non-renewal, non-promotion and termination.
• Confidential investigations of sensitive charges of wrongdoing by top administrators, faculty and others.
• Resolved the complex exit of a former university president by using prior successes with New York’s “faithless servant doctrine.”

Attorneys from the firm’s litigation department regularly appear in both state and federal courts representing higher education institutions at hearings, motions, trials and appeals in a variety of matters, as well as arbitrations and agency matters. From precedent-setting cases to day-to-day disputes, along with subpoena responses, mediations and settlement negotiations, these cases span virtually every legal practice area.

A sampling of our recent litigation experience is highlighted below.

Class Actions

• Obtained dismissal, either on a motion to dismiss, motion for judgment on the pleadings or on a motion for summary judgment, of several tuition refund class actions arising from the pandemic.
• Resolved through favorable settlement terms several tuition refund class actions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including two on an individual basis following weaknesses uncovered during discovery.
• Successfully obtained summary judgment for a university in a Title IX class action case involving claims by women student-athletes.

General Student and Employee Litigation

• Bond lawyers have successfully handled dozens upon dozens of Article 78 proceedings involving student discipline arising out of both academic and non-academic misconduct.
• Obtained removal and then dismissal in case involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment and defamation brought by student.
• Assisted in pre-suit investigation and resolution of several claims following student suicides.
• Secured summary judgment for a private college in a suit alleging negligent hiring and supervision.

Student Discrimination Claims

• Obtained summary judgment dismissing student-on-student harassment claim brought by student athlete.
• Obtained dismissal of student’s disability discrimination and accommodation claims, which was upheld on appeal.
• Obtained dismissals in several cases involving national origin, disability discrimination and related breach of contract claims.

Title IX and Sexual Misconduct

• Obtained dismissals in a number of Title IX cases involving institutional response to student-on-student sexual misconduct, including summary judgment and judgment on the pleadings, including related breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.
• Obtained voluntary withdrawal of Title IX claims following completion of discovery.
• Obtained dismissal of an Adult Survivor’s Act case against institution.
• Obtained summary judgment dismissing several “reverse” sex discrimination cases in which disciplined male students argued that their sex resulted in an erroneous outcome of sexual misconduct disciplinary proceedings.

Operations

• Successfully resolved multimillion-dollar breach of contract dispute before litigation between an institution and a service provider.
• Obtained summary judgment dismissing claims for health insurance benefits arising under ERISA and the Mental Health Parity Act.
• Secured judicial modification of donor-imposed restrictions on the use of endowment and other restricted funds on behalf of dozens of colleges, universities and other foundations and organizations where the original restrictions had become unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve or wasteful.
• Successfully resolved multimillion-dollar litigation involving ownership of principal and historic appreciation of endowments held by Syracuse University in connection with its medical college transferred to State University of New York.
• Handled litigation in connection with college’s relocation from Long Island to another campus in Upstate New York, including the successful defense of an action to enjoin relocation.

Faculty Matters

• Obtained dismissal of an Article 78 petition in which a professor challenged denial of tenure, which was upheld on appeal.
• Obtained summary judgment dismissing a breach of contract case brought by faculty member claiming he was terminated without the process available to him under the faculty handbook.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a medical college dismissing fraud and breach of contract asserted by a former faculty member.
• Obtained a favorable jury verdict of “no cause” for the institution in a case brought by a former tenured faculty member terminated for misconduct who later claimed defamation and negligent destruction of her research material.

Employment Discrimination Claims

• Obtained pre-answer dismissal of former employee’s discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower claims filed against community college.
• Obtained favorable early resolution of claims brought by athletics coach alleging gender discrimination, retaliation and Equal Pay Act violations.
• Successfully defended a community college’s board of trustees in a suit by former dean alleging termination violated the ADEA, constituted deprivation of property without due process and was in retaliation for protected free speech, with summary judgment in favor of the college affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
• Obtained sanctions for discovery abuse against faculty member who sued private university for disability discrimination and retaliation.
• Settled pre-suit claims in numerous cases brought by faculty, administrators and staff involving claims of disability, race, national origin, sex, discrimination, pay equity, FMLA and more.
• Won motion to dismiss Title VII and retaliation claims by faculty member alleging novel claim that their claim involving another faculty member’s harassment of student was protected activity.

Emergency Relief

• Successfully defended against multiple temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in state trial and appellate court.

Precedent-Setting History

Many of the cases that university lawyers rely on to this day were those involving Bond lawyers shaping the jurisprudence in New York State. Representative samples include:

• Secured summary judgment in an action by student dismissed on academic grounds on eve of graduation, an early high-water mark of “academic abstention” doctrine.
• Obtained and preserved on appeal a landmark judgment rejecting claims by suspended students that a private college’s decision was state action because of their adoption of rules for the maintenance of public order required by state law.
• Secured summary judgment for university in case involving libel by student editors of campus newspaper, an early and much-noted case insulating private institutions from student libels.
• Secured national landmark holding, by New York State's highest court, that a medical college can practice medicine (through faculty practice plan) over objections of unlicensed corporate practice of medicine and “fee splitting.”

Intellectual Property

Bond has substantial experience in the protection and commercial exploitation of intellectual property, including for college and university clients:

• Computer Law: Protecting proprietary rights in computer software, drafting and negotiation of computer contracts and software marketing and publishing agreements.
• Communications Law: Addressing communications policies and privacy issues.
• Copyright Law: Evaluating, registering and enforcing copyright protection for creative works; and advising regarding the use of copyright protected works in real-world and digital classroom environments.
• Government Contracts: Negotiating government contracts and cooperative research and development agreements; drafting appropriate provisions for the ownership and allocation of intellectual property rights; preparing compliance policies for government contractors; interpreting regulatory requirements; and identifying protectable technology.
• Litigation of Intellectual Property Rights: Representing clients in all types of federal and state litigation and alternative dispute resolution involving patents, copyrights and trademarks; defending clients against patent trolls, copyright trolls, and other intellectual property rights assertion entities.
• Patent Prosecution and Protection: Advising university clients and rendering opinions on the patentability of university technology and infringement of existing patents (also known as freedom-to-operate analysis); conducting patent searches and studies; preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications; and advising university clients regarding strategy for international patent protection; and evaluating and maintaining patent portfolios.
• Technology Licensing and Technology Transfer: Drafting and negotiating copyright, patent and trademark licenses including foreign licensing and the negotiation and drafting of university/industry technology transfer agreements; and evaluating university technology and associated intellectual property for licensing purposes.
• Trademark and Service Mark Protection: Evaluating proposed trademarks and service marks for validity and enforceability; conducting clearance searches and analyses regarding use and/or registration of proposed trademarks; filing applications, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing registered trademarks and service marks under both federal and state law; and drafting agreements and policies for trademark and character licensing programs.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

Higher education institutions face unique and difficult challenges relating to cybersecurity and data privacy given the breadth of information they collect and the variety of legal frameworks guiding compliance obligations. Now, more than ever, cybersecurity and data privacy are top concerns for institutions as they encounter new challenges relating to outsourcing their technological infrastructure, threats of hacking, increase in privacy regulation and advancements in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).

Attorneys in the Bond cybersecurity and data privacy practice assist institutions of higher education across the full spectrum of legal services in the privacy and cybersecurity arenas, offering proactive advice to shore up cybersecurity programs, data privacy practices and response in the wake of a breach. Our attorneys assist clients with AI governance, technology contract review, risk mitigation strategies, privacy compliance programs, privacy policies, records management procedures and employee training. We also assist institutions facing potential litigation or regulatory action relating to technologies deployed on websites, privacy law compliance, and class action lawsuits related to a cyber breach.

Our clients have the benefit of deep industry experience as we counsel them on the many cybersecurity and data privacy challenges facing institutions. The Bond team maintains a variety of certifications including the following: Certification in Cybersecurity Leadership from Carnegie Mellon University, ANSI-accredited International Association of Privacy Professionals Certifications: Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US), Certified Information Privacy Professional/European (CIPP/E), Certified Information Privacy Professional/Asia and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM).

We assist institutions proactively in devising sound policies and procedures, review existing policies and practices, preparing for emerging privacy and cybersecurity challenges and responding in the event of an incident. Specifically, our services include:

• Preparation, review and implementation of cybersecurity policies and programs;
• Advise on numerous data and record related laws, including Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), HIPAA, FERPA, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and China’s Personal Information Protection Law;
• Preparation and review of third-party agreements, including MSA, SaaS, Cloud Service and other technology agreements;
• Assistance with review and implementation of HRIS, SIS, CRM and other institutional software systems;
• Review and advise on cybersecurity insurance policies;
• Navigate all aspects of breach response, including investigations, duty to notify, remediation and response to regulatory oversight;
• Provide employee training and conduct handbook policy review;
• Advise boards on their oversight duties and governance structures and provide training to boards on cyber issues;
• Develop and review privacy policies, gap analysis and implementation; 
• Develop and review subject request and response policies and procedures;
• Conduct security assessments;
• Data retention policies and procedures;
• Data protection and security agreement drafting;
• Create AI guidelines and policies;
• Conduct website review and development assistance relating to cookies, pixels, session replay technology and other tracking technologies;
• Advise on disputes arising from technology and Americans with Disabilities Act and wiretapping claims; and
• Advice regarding compliance with Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (commonly known as CAN-SPAM), and other laws regulating communications with students, employees and alumni.

Policy review and drafting is a major part of our preventative lawyering. We design policies that are at once comprehensive and easy to follow, setting clear expectations for community members and providing clear standards and procedures for administrators or faculty addressing issues. We update policies to comply with legal mandates and also have broad experience drafting a wide variety of academic and nonacademic policies consistent with best practices.

Our experience across our wide range of clients helps us understand best practices and varying approaches to policy choices and allows us to benchmark policies from trusted peers. From small tweaks to overhauls and everything in between, we can help you set clear guidance and expectations for your community.

Policies we have worked on include:

• Nondiscrimination and anti-harassment, including compliance with federal, state and local laws
• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), including annual notices
• Student misconduct, including specific policies on protest and time/place/manner restrictions, hazing, drugs and alcohol and related procedures 
• Social media
• Academic integrity
• Tuition and fee refund
• Religious and disability accommodations
• Document retention policies, including detailed schedules 
• Conflict-of-interest policies, including fiduciary and non-fiduciary policies 
• Honoraria
• Codes of ethics 
• Student grievance procedures 
• Web accessibility
• Leaves of absence
• Human resources policies, including benefits

And no policy list would be complete without referencing a policy on policies; our attorneys also have experience advising on the process for developing and amending policies, including navigating the role of shared governance and student governance. We have also been part of teams developing best practices for policy management, distribution, training programs and tracking each of the above.

Bond attorneys regularly represent colleges and universities in a variety of business, facilities and real estate matters, from the routine to the transformative. We have helped numerous institutions:

• Negotiate comprehensive facilities, dining, bookstore and campus security outsourcing arrangements.
• Design, negotiate and implement a wide variety of interinstitutional relationships, including mergers, acquisitions, affiliations and shared services arrangements. These representations include not only transactional negotiation, diligence and typical transactional work, but also include extensive expertise in navigating and securing required regulatory and accreditation approvals.
• Negotiate construction, architect, project management and other capital project agreements.
• Obtain necessary zoning and permitting approvals for real estate projects, including representation before municipal zoning, planning and other boards.
• Structure bond financings and commercial borrowing transactions.
• Negotiate privatized student housing partnership arrangements.
• Negotiate clinical affiliation and experiential learning agreements.
• Negotiate with Salesforce, Workday, Workato, implementation partners and consultants for CRM, ERP and other cloud-service solutions.

• Negotiate with software as a service (SaaS) providers regarding housing software, security technology, course management software solutions, telehealth software, financial software and other solutions necessary for higher education.
• Negotiate facilities use arrangements, including use of institutional facilities by third parties and use of arenas, stadia and other outside facilities for institutional athletics and other functions.

• Draft and negotiate partnership agreements involving study away programs and international data transfer with institutions and program providers throughout the world.
• Negotiate campus pouring rights agreements with Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

Student Affairs

In the student affairs arena, we have extensive experience with student conduct codes and disciplinary cases in both academic integrity and non-academic misconduct, admissions, mass student demonstrations, campus safety issues, athletics, student organizations (including fraternities and sororities), a range of policies, the disclosure and release of student records, serious student health and wellness issues. Notable experience from attorneys on our team includes:

• Successful resolution of countless cases with the Office for Civil Rights involving claimed discrimination, including resolving numerous cases involving traditional discrimination complaints as well as many cases involving identity-related programs, clubs and other programs. This advice has extended to proactively ensuring DEI-related programs are offered in a compliant, defensible manner, including advice on how to explain changes to community stakeholders.
• De-escalation of innumerable student issues and advice and counsel throughout disciplinary proceedings to prevent litigation or ensure strong defense. Design and conduct proactive trainings for student conduct teams on trends and recent examples.
• Advise on all aspects of admissions-related issues, including impact of recent Supreme Court holdings on admissions and scholarships, use of criminal history in admissions and sensitive admissions fraud matters. 
• Assisting institutions with time-critical assessments of students facing mental and other health challenges, including participation in behavioral intervention/care team meetings and the evaluation of potential involuntary leaves of absence.
• Successful defense of numerous student disciplinary proceedings arising out of academic misconduct, including sophisticated schemes to cheat.
• Development of student athlete drug-testing programs.
• Comprehensive advice to dozens of institutions in the design, implementation and operation of Title IX and Title IX-adjacent policies and procedures through suggestive legislative and regulatory changes at the federal and state levels.
• Review and development of student-centered policies, including student handbooks, FERPA-related policies, disability accommodation procedures and “technical standards,” time, place and manner policies governing student speech and policies covering students studying abroad.

Title IX, Clery Act and VAWA

Over 50 years after its passage, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 continues to evolve in how it seeks to prohibit educational institutions from discriminating on the basis of sex. As a result of the law’s shifting regulatory provisions, colleges and universities have an ever-increasing need for timely, practical legal advice concerning Title IX compliance.

To meet this need, Bond has a team devoted to assisting our college and university clients fulfill their Title IX obligations, understanding rule changes as they occur and helping them navigate the space where state and federal requirements intersect, or even collide. Our Title IX team consists of attorneys who are not only knowledgeable about Title IX and its newest regulatory requirements concerning the investigation and adjudication of sexual misconduct cases, but also as it relates to sexual assault prevention guidance, gender equity in athletics and increasing focus on gender identity.

We work with our clients in connection with internal disciplinary proceedings and appeals and we defend our clients in the event of external legal challenges to disciplinary results. We have extensive experience representing clients in court on Title IX matters and before governmental enforcement agencies, including the Office for Civil Rights.

We work with each client to craft a Title IX policy solution that fits the institution’s needs and culture. We also assist clients with disciplinary policy implementation, including hearing procedures, as well as Clery Act compliance and reporting. We have extensive experience in Clery Act compliance, including the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) amendments to the Clery Act, and can provide everything from comprehensive, full-scale Annual Security Report review to discrete answers to questions on the minutiae of reporting statistics, geography and required policies.

Our team also regularly provides training to administrators and other “responsible employees” with reporting and/or investigatory responsibilities, in each case designed to fit an institution’s specific policy, organizational structure and campus culture. We have extensive speaking experience in this space, which includes numerous presentations at the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities and NACUA, among other national and regional conferences; one team member participated in a U.S. Congressional roundtable with Rep. Ro Khanna and former Rep. Carolyn Maloney on sexual misconduct on campus.

Bond has been engaged in public finance for almost 30 years. The firm is included in the "Redbook" (i.e., the "The Bond Buyer's Municipal Marketplace") as nationally recognized bond counsel. In recent years we have issued approving opinions on more than $1 billion of bond and note issues. Our attorneys are active members of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, have acted as panelists in seminars conducted by the Association, and have participated in projects conducted by the New York State Bar Association's Tax Section.

Tax-Exempt Status

Bond has extensive experience supporting universities and colleges in their receipt of charitable gifts, including:

• Drafting and negotiating all kinds of gift agreements, ranging from common but crucial gifts made in support of scholarships, programs, facilities, and professorships to transformational gifts in excess of $100 million (and everything in between);
• Counseling on the innumerable legal and practical issues surrounding charitable giving and the University’s development function, including developing and maintaining endowment funds, and the investment, management and spending of endowment and other restricted funds under the New York Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (NYPMIFA);
• Advising on multi-state charitable solicitation law compliance;
• Counseling institutions on modification of donor restricted funds through the exercise of variance power, with donor consent, or by petition for approval of modification by a court and/or Office of the Attorney General; and
• Providing advice on receipt of funds from estates and trusts, including review of related fiduciary accountings.

Bond routinely counsels dozens of higher education clients on matters related to tax-exempt status and Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) through its exempt organizations practice, which includes attorneys with CPA licenses and master of laws degrees (LLMs) in tax. The following are some examples:

• Providing advice on the formation and administration of tax-exempt and taxable subsidiary entities for a wide variety of institutional purposes, including vehicles for acquisition and operation of real property for related and unrelated uses, for development of dormitory and housing facilities, as vehicles for merger and acquisition activity, and for purposes of entering into partnerships and joint ventures with for-profit entities;
• Advising on UBIT issues associated with treatment of income generated from real estate use agreements (leases and licenses), including unrelated debt financed income and income from ancillary services;
• Providing counsel on tax-exempt bond compliance implications of a variety of activities, including “private business use” issues implicated by agreements with food service, facilities, bookstore and pouring rights vendors, as well as intercollegiate athletics business operations;
• Addressing all kinds of employee-related tax issues, including remote work issues for both domestic and foreign-based employees; and
• Assisting with wage withholding, reporting, and payroll correction issues.

At Bond, we believe one of our most valuable services is helping clients avoid problems before they occur. To that end, we conduct issue-specific trainings for a wide cross section of university stakeholders, including presidential and senior leadership teams, academic leadership, compliance officers, student conduct administrators, disability accommodations providers, religious life administrators, human resources personnel, athletics staff and faculty. Each training is tailored to the issue at hand, the university personnel and procedures involved, and the specific culture and expectations of the institution. We conduct small and large group training in a variety of formats, as desired by the client, including in-person, remote and hybrid. Our attorneys not only write and conduct these trainings, but we often help clients comply with agency training tracking requirements and design post-training monitoring to help address systemic issues.

Our attorneys’ training skills are informed by their experience before national and statewide audiences. Our attorneys have presented on issues affecting institutions at NACUA, CICU, the National Association of Attorneys General, the U.S. Navy and the New York City Bar Association, among other organizations. Bond attorneys are frequent presenters at meetings of the New York NACUA Affinity Group, which is led and co-hosted by a Bond attorney who ensures the programming includes timely resources for the New York higher education community.

Updates

To keep our higher education clients up to date on the latest legal developments, we provide a variety of resources, including written client alerts and information memos. These are sent by email via Bond’s Higher Education Law Report (https://www.bsk.com/higher-education-law-report). Bond also publishes a New York Labor and Employment Law Report (https://www.bsk.com/new-york-labor-and-employment-law-report) and maintains an Articles page (https://www.bsk.com/news-events-videos/articles) where client alerts on a variety of practice area subjects are cataloged.

Just a few recent examples of such written updates include:

• Trump Administration Issues Memorandum Aimed at Requiring Colleges and Universities to Produce More Student and Applicant Data, https://bit.ly/4aihLoS, (August 21, 2025).
• Title VI Coordinator Mandate for New York Colleges and Universities Signed into Law, https://bit.ly/3XM4zkH, (August 27, 2025).
• Expanded Benefits for Educational Assistance Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, https://bit.ly/4obuTzL, (September 12, 2025).
• DOL Launches “Project Firewall" to Target H-1B Program Abuse, https://bit.ly/4rkgcNu, (September 23, 2025).

Our higher education attorneys also present in-person seminars and remote webinars to brief our clients on timely higher education law topics, such as major federal law and policy shifts. We have also recently featured presentations on crisis management, data privacy and cybersecurity, disability and pregnancy-related accommodations, hiring and firing best practices, leave laws and employee benefits issues.

Examples of such recent presentations include:

• Higher Education Update: Immigration, Title VI/DEI, Accreditation and Issues Facing Boards, https://bit.ly/4psKOdV and https://bit.ly/4ob5PIZ.
• Data Privacy and Cybersecurity for Higher Education Institutions Series, https://bit.ly/49zlaj3. Sessions in the series were:
  • Data Privacy and Cybersecurity 101: What Higher Education Institutions Need to Know
  • Mitigating Data Privacy Risk in Vendor Contracts
  • Higher Education Policies and Procedures
  • Higher Education Cybersecurity & Data Breach Response
  • Data Privacy & Higher Education Marketing & Admissions
  • Cybersecurity Insurance
• Title IX 2024: Balancing Pregnant Students’ Rights and Academic Program Requirements
• Issues to Consider in a College-to-University Name Change
• Employee Benefit Fundamentals for Higher Education Institutions: A Lesson Plan For Success