Orlando, FL – January 26, 2015 – GrayRobinson, P.A., announced today the addition of its new Higher Education Practice Group that will advise educational institutes on matters of litigation, labor and employment, government relations, construction, health care, immigration, real estate, land use, employee benefits, and other legal issues that may arise. Higher education institutions face challenges that are unlike issues other schools face. The GrayRobinson Higher Education Practice Group has decades of experience working with higher education institutions to address these matters. The group will be led by Richard E. Mitchell, a shareholder in the Firm’s Orlando office.
"The formation of this practice group reinforces the Firm’s commitment to higher education institutions dating back to Charlie Gray’s involvement in bringing the University of Central Florida to fruition," said GrayRobinson President and Managing Director Byrd F. "Biff" Marshall, Jr. "Since that time in the mid-1960’s, GrayRobinson has expanded the services provided to higher education institutions yielding the launch of the multi-disciplinary practice group. For nearly ten years, the group’s chair, Rick Mitchell, has made a name for himself representing colleges and universities throughout the state of Florida in high profile and high stakes litigation."
GrayRobinson recognizes that colleges and universities are also partners with hospitals, visual arts houses, and research think tanks hosting international faculty and students at global sites. With each educational institute embodying its own goals, mission, culture, heritage and core values, these institutes are impacted by a host of diverse problems every day.
GrayRobinson’s attorneys will provide counsel and legal representation to clients in the education marketplaces. Legal services offered through the Firm’s Higher Education Practice Group will include counsel on all aspects of this industry, including:
- Litigation: Counseling clients when disagreements about tenure, managing trusts and donations, protecting research and commercializing intellectual property, managing immigration issues or merging two educational institutes together in partnership arise.
- Government Relations: GrayRobinson attorneys and consultants currently represent higher education institutions and their student bodies in front of the Executive Office of the Governor, Cabinet offices, executive branch agencies and the Board of Governors of the State University System.
- Construction: Assisting with new construction on college and university campuses including athletic facilities, classroom buildings, and student housing through traditional financing as well as public-private partnerships (P3).
- Labor and Employment: Handling employment law matters regarding discrimination (gender, race, national origin, religion and age), all forms of retaliation, the Fair Labor Standard Act, unemployment compensation, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other employment related laws as well as collective bargaining and union matters.