Educational Institutions

Devine Millimet’s educational institutions attorneys provide strategy and counsel to meet the unique legal needs of public, private, and parochial secondary schools, colleges, and universities.

Our attorneys recognize that clients in the education sector require many of the same legal services that companies of similar size do: employment law, torts and premises liability, contracts, real estate acquisitions and financial transactions, just to name a few. Unlike a for-profit business, however, educational institutions have competing interests that alter the way lawyers approach problem solving and strategy. This includes carefully weighing the interests of students, teachers, and trustees and developing a legal response that is consistent with the institution's mission statement.

Our experienced legal team consists of attorneys with varied backgrounds and vast experience. Litigation members defend all levels of educational institutions on matters including premises liability, hazing, sexual assault, racial discrimination, wrongful discharge, fiduciary breach, personal injury, special education, and defamation claims. Our employment lawyers represent schools before state and federal courts and regulatory bodies in claims involving negligent hiring, discrimination, wrongful discharge, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Corporate team members address financing issues such as municipal bonds, and provide counsel on real estate and transactional issues.

We conduct seminars and customized training programs for administrators, teachers and staff on such topics as sexual misconduct, implications of suicide in the school environment, and student-teacher boundaries. The group regularly advises on the Americans with Disabilities Act, hiring and firing, student discipline, free speech, and school searches. Our team also presents programs to students directly on a variety of legal issues ranging from the legal consequences of alcohol use to sex, drugs, and hazing.

Representative Matters

• Devine Millimet attorneys represent educational institutions in a wide variety of business, transactional, financial, and litigation matters, including:
• Handling the affiliation of the Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the University of New Hampshire School of Law) with the University of New Hampshire.
• Assisting a not-for-profit college in the acquisition transaction by a for-profit corporation.
• Providing counsel to colleges and universities in the purchase and sale of real estate and other assets.
• Counseling educational institutions with bonds and other finance-related issues.
• Counseling educational institutions regarding employee benefits and executive compensation.
• Representing educational institutions in lawsuits filed in the state and federal courts as well as the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights alleging discrimination, wrongful discharge, and other employment related claims.
• Advising educational institutions as to drafting of employee policies and compliance with statutes such as the FMLA, FLSA, and other state and federal requirements.
• Providing anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training.
• Representing educational institutions in union matters, including collective bargaining, contract administration, grievance processing, labor arbitration, and hearings before the PELRB and NLRB.
• Representing educational institutions in a wide range of litigation matters, including hazing and alcohol-related wrongful death claims, sexual assault claims, property damage claims, and general personal injury claims.
• Defending educational institutions in civil rights and constitutional violations, including claims of alleged civil rights violations by campus safety and campus police departments and claims related to disciplinary actions against students and faculty members.