Colleges and universities, school districts and higher education associations are more than vital social institutions—they are complex organizations with operations and interests both domestic and international. Given their massive operating budgets, highly skilled labor force and the changing political agendas that can influence them, educational institutions are scrutinized by local, state and federal entities and, quite often, the general public.
Thompson Coburn is privileged to serve the people and institutions whose work is the foundation of a democratic society, and we are proud of the fact that relationships with some of our education clients go back more than 30 years. We work with school districts, public and private universities and colleges, higher education associations, research facilities, a public school retirement system and teaching hospitals. Our attorneys have particular skill handling the labor and employment, public finance, intellectual property, capital projects, planned giving, nonprofit law and tax concerns for higher education clients.
We have one of the most active public law and public finance practices in the Midwest, including tax-exempt and education-related bond financing. In 2009 alone, we served as bond counsel in several high-profile financings for the University of Missouri System, with issuances totaling nearly $500 million. Our nationally recognized labor and employment attorneys regularly handle faculty and staff collective bargaining, structuring of benefit and compensation plans, immigration and employee-related litigation. Our intellectual property team works closely with faculty at leading university and research facilities to leverage and protect their intellectual capital around the world, and our real estate attorneys are highly experienced in all stages of capital projects.