PRACTICES
Community Colleges / Higher Education
What We Do
We represent higher education institutions, including community college districts and their governing boards in facilities, labor and employment, education law, student, state mandates and incorrect reduction claims and litigation matters. Forty years of experience dedicated to the practice of education law makes DWK uniquely qualified in this area. Our team includes experienced attorneys who advise community college districts and their governing boards on the full scope of often unique laws applicable to higher education. We understand the nuances, intersections and interconnections of these issues.
Our higher education attorneys regularly advise community colleges and provide the following services:
- Business and procurement
- Public finance, funding and revenue management
- Real estate and environmental concerns
- Representing community colleges in claims and litigation arising from construction programs
- Assisting governing boards with Brown Act requirements
- California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests and disputes
- Conflicts of interest, including conflicts and disclosure under the Political Reform Act and Government Code section 1090
- Full service labor and employment representation for public education clients
- Representation in all types of personnel matters, including academic and classified layoffs, collective bargaining, employment claims, dismissal hearings, and compliance with federal and state labor laws.
- Defending against unfair labor practice charges filed with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
- Assisting with employment-related investigations, discrimination/harassment prevention, UCP and other complaint procedures
- Representing clients in all types of litigation including discrimination and harassment claims and tort liability claims, including personal injury, employment and business related claims.
- Public relations and crisis management
Community Colleges / Higher Education – the DWK Way
- We pride ourselves on using our expertise and depth of experience to provide community college districts and their governing boards with practical, creative and solid legal advice
- We strive to build staff knowledge and capacity to handle certain concerns effectively and legally
- We offer numerous, easy-to-use, “best practice” publications, advisories, and forms to help and sometimes reduce the need to outsource common tasks to legal counsel
- Because our firm almost exclusively represents public education clients, we do not have the concerns inherent in many other firms’ work for private clients with potentially adverse interests.
Sample Trainings and In-Services
- Brown Act and Meeting Procedure
- Conflicts of Interest and Board Ethics
- Election & Campaign Activity
- Practical Ethics in Procurement
- Not In My Backyard! CEQA Compliance and Community Relations
- Developer Fee Alphabet Soup: From ADUs to SGRs
- Sexual Harassment Prevention
- Leaves of Absence– Employee Rights and Employer Obligations
- Collective Bargaining 101 and Beyond
Interested in scheduling a training for your team?