Higher Education

Areas of Concentration

Governance.
Taxes.
Labor relations.
Real estate and zoning.
Institutional financing.
Endowments and development.
Government affairs.

Thanks to our long history serving both public and private colleges and universities across a full spectrum of complex legal matters, we know and understand the issues, imperatives and opportunities facing higher education institutions. We bring that knowledge to bear to help you grow and plan for the future and to manage your day-to-day operations efficiently and economically.

Our deeply experienced, comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach means we speak your language and work responsively to get things done right and on time, helping you seize opportunities in the ever-changing educational regulatory and legal environment and avoid costly and annoying pitfalls. But when problems or disputes do arise, we stand ready to aggressively defend and advance your interests in litigation and arbitration, as our successful track record demonstrates.

A longstanding member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, AP&S has helped numerous higher education institutions build, prosper and more effectively achieve their educational mission. We can do the same for your institution, with seasoned and noted attorneys skilled at helping schools in all aspects of their operations.

Representative Matters

Tax issues, including monitoring constantly changing federal, state and local laws for tax-exempt institutions; planning and compliance with unrelated business income, real estate tax exemptions, employment taxes, IRS tax audits, and joint ventures.
Labor and employment issues, including governmental compliance, employee benefits, collective bargaining and union relations, tenure and nepotism; class-action litigation, sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit defense, litigation prevention and insurance coverage analysis.
Real estate and zoning: real estate transactions, acquisition, permitting and environmental matters; financing, development, project management, zoning and land-use issues.
Institutional financing: multifaceted financing, bond counsel, acquisitions, grants, and other funding issues.
Charitable and planned giving: endowment building, negotiating and drafting structured donations and charitable giving vehicles, advice on substantiation and valuation of gifts and tax-reporting issues.
Governance: chairing governing bodies, administrative restructuring, governance issues, revising by-laws, restructuring boards and committees, advising on conflict of interest policies, trustee liability, insurance and indemnification.
Campus management, including structure and efficiency analysis, utility and service contract counseling, personnel and financial planning, structuring non-profit and for-profit ventures.
Government affairs: interfacing with state and local government, drafting legislation, representation before the U.S. Department of Education.

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