The firm’s Educational Institution Practice Group provides strategic and practical legal advice to over 50 educational institutions of all sizes throughout New England and nationally. Clients include public and private universities and colleges, independent schools and educational foundations as well as many other related organizations.
Our experience with the broad range of issues affecting educational institutions allows our group to provide advice on an inter-disciplinary basis. Hinckley, Allen & Snyder attorneys offer extensive practical experience in matters related to:
ConstructionEmployee Benefits and Executive Compensation
Fund-Raising Activities
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Real Estate Acquisition
Public Financing
Tax Law
Our Educational Institutions Practice Group regularly provides advice and counseling regarding institutional development and administrative, operations and human resources concerns. In advancing the broad spectrum of matters on which we assist institutions, we also can draw on the experience of our corporate and business, personal financial planning, real estate, construction practice, litigation and other practice groups.
Public Financing
We serve as counsel to educational institutions, commercial banks and investment bankers, providing advice on all aspects of the public financing process including:
- Legal documentation, federal tax matters and related issues such as the integration of capital campaigns with a bond financing and the use of interest rate swaps and other derivate products to hedge interest rate risk.
- Student loan financings
- Innovative financing solutions for grant anticipation revenue (GRAVEE) bonds.
For related information please read about our Corporate & Business practice.
Construction
Our attorneys often negotiate, mediate and litigate construction issues on regional, national and international levels. Our many years of construction-related experience include matters such as:
- Construction contracts and claims
- Design/build/operate projects
- Dispute avoidance and resolution
- Construction-related litigation
- Labor law
- Project administration
For related information please read about our Construction practice.
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
Our employee benefit practice offers a complete range of services from design, structure and implementation to the ongoing administration and legal compliance for all types of retirement, welfare benefit, and compensation plans in the following areas:
- Employee benefit plan administration and technical compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, COBRA and HIPAA
- Reporting and disclosure requirements
- Non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements
- Benefit design and strategy, management of carrier/TPA acquisition and implementation process (Through our consulting organization Hinckley, Allen & Tringale LP)
Members of the Educational Institution Practice Group are members of the National Association of Colleges and University Attorneys and have presented on a variety of topics at NAUA conferences. The firm acts as panel counsel in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for a national insurer for college and university liability claims.
For related information please read about our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice.
Fund-Raising Activities
We counsel development strategists on capital campaigns and fund appeals designed to maximize charitable-giving benefits to donors and increase contributions to your institution. Representative services include:
- Creating charitable foundations and trusts
- Advising on lifetime-giving and estate plans
- Ensuring compliance with all regulations applicable to soliciting and administering the funds
For related information please read about our Personal Financial Planning practice.
Intellectual Property
Hinckley, Allen and Snyder attorneys counsel and represent clients on intellectual property rights, including the acquisition, use, licensing and enforcement of patents, copyrights and trademarks, on a global basis. Our work includes:
- Managing trademark, patent, copyright and domain name portfolios
- Conducting intellectual property audits
- Drafting patent- and copyright-protection policies and agreements
- Negotiating agreements to transfer and license intellectual property assets
- Litigating intellectual property disputes in the United States and serving as advisory counsel in coordinating and managing disputes on an international basis
For related information please read about our Intellectual Property practice.
Labor & Employment
Hinckley, Allen and Snyder frequently counsels clients and litigates issues related to employment and labor law, and has trained national arbitrators in employment law in New England. Our lawyers offer extensive experience in such matters as:
- Collective bargaining
- Employee/faculty handbooks
- Discrimination and harassment suits
- Compliance issues with regard to DOL, OFCCO, OSHA audits and complaints, employment claims, union organizing, immigration, and wage and hour laws
For related information please read about our Labor & Employment practice.
Real Estate Acquisition
Hinckley, Allen & Snyder attorneys can assist with the many issues related to strategic investments in real estate required for institutional expansion. Our real estate practice group is one of the largest in New England. Our attorneys have been involved in some of the region's largest and most complex real estate transactions and we have represented national clients in multi-state transactions and other projects throughout the country. We are highly experienced in such areas as:
- Acquisitions and dispositions
- Development, zoning and permitting
- Environmental and brownfields development
- Real estate lending and finance
- Leasing
For related information please read about our Real Estate practice.
Tax Law
Our attorneys are trusted advisors on federal, state, local and international tax planning and litigation. Issues may also involve negotiation of payments in lieu of taxes. Representation may involve matters such as:
- Real estate tax exemptions
- Sales and use tax exemptions
- Institutional tax filings and government audits
For related information please read about our Corporate & Business practice.