El Paso

221 N. Kansas, Suite 1700
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: 915.533.4424
Fax: 915.546.5360

Austin

2905 San Gabriel St, Suite 205, 
Austin, TX 78705
Phone: 512.320.5466
Fax: 512.320.5431

Las Cruces

3800 E. Lohman Ave., Suite C
Las Cruces, NM 88011
Phone: 575.527.0023
Fax: 915.546.5360

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Higher Education

 

Kemp Smith’s higher education practice helps our clients recognize opportunities and solve problems. We have a wide range of experience in handling complex matters and have a thorough understanding of the unique challenges facing higher education and affiliated organizations. We have represented public and private institutions of all types including selective national liberal arts colleges, multi-campus public university systems, law, medical and other professional schools.

Our services include:
  • Accreditation
  • Administrative hearings
  • Affiliation agreements
  • Athletics
  • Business transactions and commercial issues
  • Construction
  • Contracts
  • Development and fundraising
  • Employment
  • Environmental
  • Estate Planning
  • Faculty employment, tenure and benefits
  • Financing
  • Governance
  • Government Affairs
  • Immigration
  • Insurance coverage
  • Investigations
  • Joint Ventures
  • Legal opinions
  • Litigation
  • Open meetings and Open Records Act issues
  • Philanthropy
  • Privacy
  • Professional licensing and certification
  • Real Estate
  • Regulatory
  • Strategic Planning
  • Tax

Recent Representative Projects:

• Helped a rural college with refinancing of several key buildings on its campus. The college asked for assistance with the completion of a multi-million dollar refinancing of its residence halls by using a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Financing program. Our partner, John Padalino is the former Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service where he managed financings for education, health care infrastructure and other facilities. This unique expertise and relationship made it possible for the college to take advantage of the USDA’s financing programs in the most efficient way possible. The college was able to refinance this project at rates significantly below the market.
• Advised a university system on water law matters including the potential lease of groundwater rights on property owned by a constituent institution for municipal use by the city in which the institution is located.
• Represented a university regarding the refinancing and management of student housing on the university’s two campuses. This involved negotiating the settlement of litigation after a developer’s default, negotiating a ground lease and management agreement with new lenders and property managers.
• Advised a residential university regarding various contract and real estate matters including negotiating and drafting a new agreement with a university’s food service provider, settlement of a boundary issue involving the university’s property and preparing an assessment of issues regarding a flood control dam and dam safety issues impounding water on its property.
• Represented an independent law school in various government affairs and regulatory matters including access to financial aid programs, statutory requirements for accreditation and other matters.
• Advised a state university on employment related matters under Title VII, state Equal Pay Act, Human Rights Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Act.
• We regularly counsel a university health sciences center on issues regarding healthcare liability, healthcare regulatory, and the constitutional rights claims.
• We represent a medical school regarding the issues surrounding malpractice claims against the institutions physicians and other employees.

We understand the special issues facing higher education today. Kemp Smith lawyers are recognized as leading policy experts and work with relevant federal and state regulatory and legislative bodies and other governmental entities, along with other institutional partners.

For more information, contact:
Tom Forbes
816 Congress Avenue, Suite 1260
Austin, Texas 78701
512.320.5466
tom.forbes@kempsmith.com