Gibson Dunn Formalizes Higher Education Industry Group, Anchored in Extensive Work for Leading Colleges and Universities
Firm News | September 9, 2026
Gibson Dunn today announced that it has formalized its Higher Education Industry Group, bringing together more than 85 lawyers across the firm who have long advised colleges and universities on significant investigations, litigation, regulatory, and business matters.
The firm has represented over half of the top 10 U.S. News & World Report-ranked colleges and universities, approximately three-quarters of the top 20, and approximately half of the top 50.
Higher education institutions are facing heightened scrutiny from the federal government, including investigations, enforcement activity, congressional inquiries, and regulatory developments, as well as from internal and external constituencies that often have competing views and goals. Gibson Dunn’s understanding of government practices and priorities and the impact on constituencies helps colleges and universities chart successful courses through their thorniest issues. The firm currently represents six universities in more than a dozen DOJ and EEOC investigations and four universities in highly publicized congressional investigations and testimony.
“This is a moment of intense pressure on universities, with attention from Congress, the Department of Justice, the EEOC, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and private plaintiffs and advocacy groups. We help higher education leaders navigate this, looking around corners and staying focused on their educational mission,” said Jason Schwartz, a leader of the Higher Education Industry Group who Co-Chairs the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group.
The team includes lawyers who have served in senior positions across presidential administrations, federal agencies, and Capitol Hill, including former senior Department of Justice and White House officials Michael Bopp, David Burns, and Stuart Delery.
Gibson Dunn’s Higher Education Industry Group advises university general counsel, presidents, provosts, boards, and other senior leaders on a broad range of legal and business issues facing their institutions. Its experience spans government and internal investigations, congressional inquiries, regulatory enforcement, administrative law and rulemaking, complex litigation, employment and civil rights matters, crisis management, appellate and constitutional law, and business and transactional matters.
“University leaders are weighing legal, financial, reputational, and academic consequences at once, and they rarely get to take them in order,” said Cynthia Chen McTernan, a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment, Class Actions, and Litigation Practice Groups and a leader of the Higher Education Industry Group. “We recognize that matters are won both in and outside the courtroom, and that a development in a legal matter can have a wider impact on faculty, students, employees, funding, and the institution’s ability to advance its academic mission. Our understanding of these multifaceted considerations helps our clients make informed decisions when the stakes are high.”
Learn more about Gibson Dunn’s Higher Education Industry Group.