Education

Advising CSU in a suite of cases and related matters related to sexual misconduct by the former San Jose State University director and head athletic trainer, including, but not limited to, defending CSU in a class action and individual plaintiff case asserting Title IX and negligent supervision, retention, and hiring claims; and two wrongful termination cases brought in state court alleging retaliation for raising issues related to underlying sexual harassment charges.

Achieved dismissal of a former student’s retaliation claims, where the District of Massachusetts ruled, in rejecting the student’s claims, that the investigation and discipline imposed complied with university policies and procedures and state laws.

Secured summary judgment in a Title IX lawsuit filed by a former student, who claimed the university ignored her claims of sexual assault, harassment, and retaliation.

Successfully resolved an ERISA class action brought against MIT. Plaintiffs alleged that MIT and other plan fiduciaries violated their duties by causing the plan to offer too many investment options, rather than a smaller number of low-cost funds, and by causing the plan to bear allegedly excessive costs for administrative services. The district court partially granted O’Melveny’s motion to dismiss, which successfully narrowed the plaintiffs’ claims, and the case ultimately settled on the eve of trial.

Represented the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education in connection with an investigation into high-profile public allegations of misconduct against a Regent and senior Board staff member.

Obtained dismissal with prejudice of a putative class action arising out of Occidental’s transition to remote instruction in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. This was one of the first decisions to dismiss this kind of “tuition refund” claim with prejudice, and the first case in which a judge has held that the educational malpractice doctrine bars contract and tort claims challenging the move from in-person to online instruction.

Represented the college in a lawsuit by a former athletic director arising out of events following the cancellation of a College football game, alleging Occidental was liable for harassment, discrimination, and constructive termination. O’Melveny’s opposition of plaintiff’s discovery motions resulted in the court finding complaints of student sexual misconduct irrelevant to the plaintiff’s claims and upholding the attorney-client privilege and work product over partially-disclosed internal investigation findings. The parties settled before the Court ruled on Occidental’s motion for summary adjudication.

In collaboration with the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, convinced judge that the state constitution requires the equitable distribution of education resources for all children, and that the state was not meeting this standard. 

Conducted an independent investigation into UCLA’s response to allegations of sexual misconduct by former UCLA physicians, which involved working closely with various administrative stakeholders within UCLA and the UC system to develop policy and process recommendations. O’Melveny reported its factual findings and related recommendations to the Regents, who issued O’Melveny’s public report and applied the recommendations across the UC system.

Conducted an internal investigation into student athlete allegations of misconduct by a head coach of Syracuse University’s women’s basketball program. The alleged behavior ranged from unwanted physical contact and threats and other forms of bullying of players. We made recommendations for improving the Syracuse sports program’s environment and culture, including measures to identify, escalate, and address student athlete concerns in the future. In a statement released to the media, Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack thanked the O’Melveny team “for the thoroughness of their work.”

Conducted a thorough and neutral internal investigation into USC’s handling of sexual abuse allegations against a former USC student health gynecologist and related reporting failures. Following our final report to the Board, USC introduced a variety of remedial measures.

Served as independent counsel in connection with the review of the University’s response to an allegation of sexual assault as reported in Rolling Stone magazine.