Employment Law in Higher Education: Title IX, Professor/Student Interactions, Tenure, Application of Labor Laws

Ms. Atkins has over 25 years’ experience as legal counsel providing litigation defense, contract negotiation, client counseling, and day-to-day legal advice to public and private employers, colleges and universities, academic medical centers, clinical affiliates, multi[1]campus systems, boards, vocational schools, private employers who partner with institutions, clinical practicum programs, and private internship, cooperative education (classroom-based education combined with practical work experience), and apprenticeship programs. She spent seven years as litigation and in-house counsel for the University of Tennessee System and the UT Health Science Center. She has served as general counsel for a mid-major, division I, Carnegie-classified doctoral/high research, land-grant university; as associate general counsel for the sixth-largest higher education system in the United States; and as an assistant general counsel for a major, division I, doctoral/very high research land-grant University and multi-campus system. She is also a former University Chief of Staff and a former Assistant Attorney General, a role in which she successfully defended numerous lawsuits against higher education institutions, board members, officers, faculty, and staff. Her practice includes Title IX investigations, training, and litigation defense, sexual misconduct investigations, complaints, and training, Title VII, the ADEA, the Clery Act, Title VI, the ADA, the FMLA, the Rehabilitation Act, FERPA, Academic Affairs, distance education, online degree programs, procurement, contracts, employee and student discipline, among other matters.

Mr. Thelen has worked as both a labor and employment lawyer in private practice and as general counsel or chief legal officer at public and private higher education institutions. His experience includes overseeing and advising on HR and labor relations, executive employment performance management, strategic risk management, and litigation defense.