Service
Investigations
Neutral, trauma-informed investigations that hold up under review, from intake through a defensible written report.
Accepting new matters · 30-day intake
When a civil rights complaint lands, the decision matters, but so does whether you can show, months later, that the process was fair. We conduct investigations that answer both: a sound outcome, and a record built to survive OCR review, a hearing, or an appeal.
We work across Title IX, Title VI, Title VII, ADA/504, and Clery matters, as a neutral third party or as an extension of your team. Either way, the standard is the same.
What we handle
From routine to exceptionally complex.
Title IX & Title VII investigations
Sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and discrimination cases. Higher education (postsecondary regulations) and workplace (Title VII or state-equivalent). We run intake through findings memo, with full evidentiary review.
Title VI investigations
Race, color, and national origin discrimination, including matters involving alleged campus antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of identity-based hostility. We are particularly experienced with the post-October-2023 wave of Title VI matters in higher education.
ADA & Section 504 matters
Disability discrimination, denial of reasonable accommodations, and accessibility-related complaints. We handle both individual cases and systemic reviews, including digital accessibility audits and program access analyses.
K-12 investigations
Title IX in K-12 has its own framework: younger complainants, mandatory reporting complexity, and parental involvement. Our K-12 practice handles cases for districts ranging from rural single-school operations to large urban systems.
Personnel matters
Senior personnel investigations, faculty, executives, and board members, where in-house counsel needs neutrality from the institution itself. Includes harassment, retaliation, and conduct-based matters with collateral employment implications.
Multi-institution matters
Cases that span multiple campuses or organizations: visiting students, athletic conferences, joint programs, or shared employees. We coordinate across the involved entities and produce a single coherent report.
How an investigation runs
Intake & jurisdiction
We assess what was reported, which framework governs, and what the institution’s obligations are before anything else moves.
Trauma-informed interviewing
Careful, structured interviews that treat everyone with dignity and still build a reliable, testable account.
Evidence & findings
We weigh the evidence against the correct standard of proof and reach findings a reviewer can trace.
A report that holds up
A clear, well-documented written report, the artifact that survives scrutiny long after memories fade.
What it costs
Honest about fees.
Hourly
For consultations, second opinions, and discrete tasks that do not warrant a full engagement. Billed hourly with monthly statements.
Standard investigation
Title IX, Title VII, and ADA matters with 1–2 complainants and 1–2 respondents. Fixed-fee engagement covering intake through final report. Most of our matters fall in this range.
Complex investigation
Multi-respondent, multi-institution, or matters with extensive document review (corporate records, communications archives). Capped hourly with a not-to-exceed ceiling.
Sensitive personnel matters
Senior personnel, board-level, and matters with significant collateral implications. Hourly engagements with weekly status reports. References available on request.
All fees include direct expenses up to 5% of the engagement value. Travel for on-site interviews is billed at cost without markup. Rush engagements, started within 7 days of intake, carry a 20% surcharge.
Hearing coordination
For the live hearing stage that postsecondary Title IX matters require.
Hearing officers & decision-makers
Trained, conflict checked decision-makers who run the live hearing, rule on relevance in real time, and write determinations that connect the evidence to the findings.
Advisors for cross-examination
Where a party arrives without an advisor, we provide one, as the 2020 regulations require, briefed on the record and committed to respectful questioning.
Appeals officers
Independent appellate review on the grounds the rules permit, closed with a written decision.
Hearing logistics & coordination
Scheduling, remote participation technology, exhibits, the recording, and the procedural script, managed end to end so the panel can focus on the record.
Staffed per matter and scoped with your engagement lead, with every role conflict checked against prior work for your institution. Institutions that prefer to keep these roles in-house can train them through the Learning Institute.
Have a matter that needs a neutral investigator?
Initial conversations are free and confidential. We do a conflict screen and let you know within 48 hours whether we can take the matter.
