Higher Ed Counsel & Strategic Solutions

Campus police play a critical role in ensuring the safety, security, and success of high-profile and potentially controversial events on campus.  Recent incidents have highlighted the importance of proactive planning, clear protocols, and collaboration with campus stakeholders.  This client alert offers practical tools and legal insights for campus law enforcement professionals and university leaders as they prepare to host large events or controversial events on campus with outside speakers.

Recent violent incidents on campuses, including the fatal shooting of a controversial speaker, have underscored the urgent need for colleges and universities to assess their approaches to campus safety and free speech ahead of and during high-profile events.

The landscape of college athletics is undergoing a seismic shift with the rise of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. As student-athletes gain the ability to monetize their personal brands, a new era of opportunity—and liability—is expanding far beyond the athletes. In addition to the student-athletes, NIL stakeholders include universities, athletic conferences and organizations, sponsors, and the athletes’ families, among others. Whether the goal is to guard against emerging liabilities or protect the NIL revenue stream itself, stakeholders should consider both traditional and specialty lines of insurance. Here’s what you need to know.

K-12 schools and institutions of higher education should be keenly aware of the laws and best practices for engagement with minors (i.e., persons under the age of 18).  Teachers, non-instructional staff, coaches, and volunteers in every school district interact with minors on a daily basis.  In higher ed, faculty, staff, and even college students themselves regularly interact with minors in the context of collegiate athletics and recruiting; college and university admissions programs; and summer school sessions and internships for high-school students.