Day Pitney and Cohen Seglias Create Collaborative Team for Title IX Investigations

Washington D.C., March 30, 2016 - Day Pitney LLP and Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC are pleased to announce the launch of their joint Title IX Investigations Initiative. This initiative will allow the firms to provide both existing and new clients greater services in the wake of a growing number of Title IX investigations.

Title IX, enacted in 1972, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded educational programs and activities. This is a growing area of concern for many public and private schools, colleges and universities. Besides applying to faculty employment and sport team participation, Title IX also applies to how academic institutions are handling complaints of sexual harassment and sexual violence.

"Our collaborative practice will promptly investigate allegations and provide the results of that investigation to the academic institution – the idea is to combine the best practices from law enforcement and internal corporate investigations with experience in working within the unique setting of academia," says Day Pitney attorney Steven Cash, who has served at the federal and state level in the executive, legislative and judicial branches, including the Manhattan District Attorney's Investigations Division, and as Counsel on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

The New York Times recently reported how some colleges have increased budgets and have even hired teams within schools to handle the increasing number of cases in an article, "Colleges Spending Millions to Deal With Sexual Misconduct Complaints."

"Our goal is to provide academic institutions with a team that has the necessary skills that are not generally found in educational facilities, including prosecutorial, investigative, and Title IX litigation experience," said Paul Thaler, Managing Partner of Cohen Seglias' Washington, DC Office. "In addition we understand the sensitivity required by academic institutions to oversee these investigations."

The Title IX Investigations Initiative's team also includes Christopher Carusone, former Chief Deputy Attorney General in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and  Secretary of Legislative Affairs and Executive Deputy General Counsel in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office; Stanley A. Twardy, Managing Partner at Day Pitney and former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; and Helen Harris, Day Pitney partner and White Collar group chair.