Educational institutions in Arkansas face an array of federal and state laws and regulations. They also experience financial burdens in addition to the challenges of educating today’s students. Educational institutions trust Mitchell Williams to guide them through daily operations and difficult challenges. Our firm has a long history of serving education institutions and a comprehensive understanding of laws, regulations and policies that govern. We provide clients with strategic, sophisticated legal service to navigate the rapidly-changing and legally demanding educational environment.
Our firm has years of experience of representing public schools, school districts, institutions of higher education, community colleges, independent schools and other educational entities in matters related to education funding, employment, desegregation, voting rights, real estate, policy, discipline, special education, gifted and talented programs, extracurricular and other issues with legal needs for educational institutions. We have represented some of the state’s largest schools, small rural school districts, boards of educational non-profit organizations and other local educational agencies in addition to public and private colleges and universities. Our experience and diverse client base allow us to pool information and resources, ensuring that legal services are provided efficiently and in a cost-effective manner.
Our capabilities include:
- General counsel services geared to address legal compliance issues tailored to your institution
- Litigation and dispute resolution involving all matters facing educational institutions with an emphasis on complex litigation, high-stakes disputes and those involving constitutional issues
- Counsel on employment issues involving top-level administration and faculty hiring, discipline, termination, and tenure, independent contractors, wage and hour compliance and accommodation of disabilities
- Bonds, lease financing for capital projects and navigating other financing issues with legal implications
- Comprehensive development and review of policies relating to students, faculty, employees and boards of directors
- Formation, detachment and division of public school districts
- Counsel on student issues such as discipline, speech, testing, student records (FERPA), sexual misconduct and Greek life
- Title IX compliance, investigations and litigation
- Crisis management for public relations issues
- Campus safety and security guidance including compliance with federal reporting requirements and counsel on threats of violence
- Real estate assistance, including leases, real estate transactions, construction and renovation
- Mergers and acquisitions in the education space
- Government inquiries and investigations brought by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) or Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Expertise on the release of public records (FOIA) and assisting with records disclosures
- Federal financial aid maintenance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act
- Union organizing efforts
Our goal is to prepare educational institutions to create and implement plans, policies and procedures that allow them to focus on their mission to educate students. When a lawsuit or crisis happens, we use our depth of experience to advocate vigorously on behalf of our clients and prepare them for the road ahead.