Today’s education landscape presents many opportunities for public and private institutions, but also poses many legal and regulatory challenges. Preti Flaherty’s Education Law group is well-prepared and positioned to smoothly guide secondary schools and higher learning institutions through the complexities of varying issues and toward their educational missions. We don’t just find solutions to problems. We create a solid framework through advocacy, planning and policy-making that helps our clients successfully advance their goals and avoid legal conflict in the future.

Our attorneys have knowledge and experience in all aspects of education law, as well as other areas of law that impact educational organizations including employment, taxation and tax exemption, real estate and corporate law. We help clients deal with a range of legal matters that exist within education policy, including:

  • School reorganization
  • Charter school contracts, negotiations, and legislation
  • Structuring new or renewed educational enterprises
  • Compliance and regulation
  • Negligence and liability
  • Discrimination and harassment
  • Faculty tenure and employment
  • 501(c)(3) issues
  • First amendment issues
  • Education legislative reform
  • Regional School Unit formation/amendment and withdrawal/accession
  • Alternative organization structures
  • Disability issues
  • School safety legal issues and laws
  • Business opportunities in the education sector

A primary legal resource for secondary education

Clients come to us because we step outside conventional thinking to carve out new solutions in secondary education. From working with our Maine Legislative team to spearhead reorganization laws for rural communities and expand formation of Regional School Units, to negotiating Maine’s first charter school contract and continuously influencing charter school legislation, we have a successful track record of working with the government to develop and implement creative education programs and policies.

With our firm’s diverse strengths in legislative advocacy, administrative law, litigation, business organizations and transactions, combined with our deep experience in innovative problem solving on a wide range of matters, we have a unique ability to overcome complicated legal challenges related to secondary education. When clients need an unusual exemption, or a policy change to meet new educational objectives, we have the tools and experience to develop a practical solution tailored to their circumstances.

Charting the course in higher education

Preti Flaherty has been an active and prominent presence in higher education policy for decades, representing numerous institutions on legislative and legal matters. We serve as strategic partners, helping our clients identify areas of growth through new laws, as well as avoid penalties and problems that may result from regulation. As representatives of Maine’s primary association of private higher education institutions, our attorneys participate in most of the major state policy discussions in this sector. From closely monitoring developments in higher education policy at both the state and federal level, to serving as General Counsel for higher learning institutions and providing direct legal services to support our clients’ day-to-day needs, our education law team is a trusted resource for a diverse range of legal needs.

Firm Highlights

News

Maine Justice Foundation LGBTQ+ Fund Seeks Applications for 2023 Grants

The Maine Justice Foundation is pleased to announce a round of grants from the LGBTQ+ Fund. The Foundation will accept applications for grants from organizations working to advance awareness and understanding of LGBTQ+ issues...

Press Coverage

Authorities Refuse to Release Records for Maine School Shooter Hoax Calls

On November 15, 2022, multiple law enforcement agencies in Maine received false calls alerting police to active shooter situations at several high schools throughout the state. In the wake of this widespread hoax, the Kennebec...

News

14 Preti Flaherty Attorneys Selected as Chambers USA Leaders in Their Field

Fourteen Preti Flaherty attorneys and six practice groups have been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business , the highly regarded directory of leading attorneys and...

Publication

Post Sackett: What Is the Scope of the Clean Water Act?

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rendered a decision in Sackett et ux. v. EPA addressing what Justice Alito referred to as a “nagging question” of what water bodies are covered under...

Publication

H-2B Visa Program Summary

The H-2B classification allows foreign nationals who are citizens of certain named countries, with limited exceptions, to accept temporary non-agricultural employment in the United States, after the employer has obtained temporary labor certification by...

News

Maine Justice Foundation Opens Applications for the 2023 Access to Justice Tax Credit

The Maine Justice Foundation is pleased to announce that applications for the 2023 Access to Justice Tax Credit Program will open on June 1, 2023. The Foundation will accept applications from eligible attorneys from...

Event

Bodie Colwell joins ethics panel at the Northeast Bankruptcy Conference & Northeast Consumer Forum

An annual conference, this year's Northeast Bankruptcy Conference and Consumer Forum will focus on sophisticated financial scenarios practitioners often face and provide insights on current consumer bankruptcy issues. Preti Flaherty's Bodie Colwell is a...

Press Coverage

Oxford Police Chief: Officer Tried to De-escalate Pursuit Before Fatal Crash

Officials from the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office have refused to provide documentation of the department's policy on police chases following the fatal high-speed crash of Nicholas Liebowitz in Gray, Maine, on Friday, April 28, 2023. Chief...

Publication

Municipal Update: Effect of Recent Supreme Court Decision on Sale of Tax Foreclosed Properties

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in  Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota  (598 U.S. _____ (2023)). The Supreme Court held that Hennepin County had violated the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause by...

Publication

Bankruptcy Court Injects Uncertainty in Municipal Tax Foreclosures

Last October, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine issued a ruling of concern for municipalities. The case ( In re Riendeau , 645 B.R. 321 [Bankr. Me. 2022] ) established that...