Industries |

Educational Institutions & Hospitals
Setting Standards of Institutional Excellence

Academic, research, and medical institutions must meet the highest standards of excellence, and face intense scrutiny by the public and by regulatory agencies, which makes their legal needs uncommonly complex and marked by considerations not often faced by other organizations and businesses.

To help our clients navigate these unique challenges and to recognize and act upon available opportunities, we bring to bear our extensive experience, international resources, and pragmatic approach to problem-solving. We regularly counsel our academic, research, and medical institution clients across all our substantive practice areas, including corporate, tax, intellectual property, and employment law. Our advice and counsel are enhanced by the fact that several of our attorneys serve as board members for nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations.

Some of our relevant experience includes:

  • Entity formation and dissolution (including establishing nonprofit affiliates of for-profit entities)
  • Application for recognition of tax-exempt status
  • Patent preparation, patent and trademark prosecution, copyright registration, and other intellectual property work
  • Licensing negotiations, including on behalf of startups out of leading academic institutions
  • Advising on general corporate, employment, tax, intellectual property, privacy, data protection, online learning and education technology, and student affairs matters
  • Negotiating strategic alliances, such as collaborations, professional service contracts, development agreements, and other inter-entity relationships
  • Sponsored research and material transfer negotiations
  • Independent investigations
  • Litigation

Experience

Representative Engagements include:

  • Representing U.S. and international educational and research institutions worldwide in complex patent prosecution matters involving cutting edge technology, including:
    • Representing the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in obtaining some of the early patents on induced pluripotent stem cells.
    • Representing Harvard University in developing a portfolio of patents related to therapeutic solutions for diabetes.
    • Representing Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), the largest hospital system in Europe and one of the largest in the world, to protect innovations related to prognostic markers for gliomas.
  • Representing U.S. and international educational and healthcare institutions with respect to trademark prosecution and counseling matters, including representation of Universiteit Gent Public Institution in Belgium and Fertility Centers of New England.
  • Representing and serving as general counsel (handling contractual, tax, employment, privacy, data protection, and student affairs matters) for College Year in Athens, Inc., an independent study abroad program focused upon the history and civilization of Greece.
  • Representing the parent of a large chain of community hospitals in the disaffiliation from a nonprofit basic science research entity.
  • Representing a Boston-based health care system with respect to venture financing.
  • Assisting a tax-exempt nonprofit to dissolve and distribute its remaining assets, including obtaining consent from the Attorney General and Supreme Judicial Court.
  • Assisting several nonprofit organizations in developing publicity and liability releases for events involving members and guests.
Related Practices