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Education

The versatile members of the Education Practice Group at Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC are passionate about assisting in the growth and development of educational institutions at all levels and helping other organizations and individuals achieve their education-related goals. 

The lawyers on our team are adept in navigating the ever-increasing legal and regulatory challenges faced by educators and their institutions. The members of our Education Practice Group have spent decades working with educators and their institutions in Florida and Alabama, providing practical advice and efficient solutions that allow them to focus on what matters most — meeting the needs of their students and academic programs.  

About Our Education Practice

Our Education Practice Group provides representation for the myriad legal issues that educational institutions and other education stakeholders face on a daily basis. The lawyers in our Education Practice Group serve as compliance, transactional, and litigation counsel to a variety of clients, including:

  • K-12 and postsecondary institutions throughout Florida and Alabama
  • Foundations and organizations that support education
  • Vendors providing educational services and products

In serving as special or general counsel to many of our education clients, our lawyers routinely handle matters common to such bodies. This includes advising on regulatory audits and appeals, drafting and implementing policies that protect the institutions’ interests and best serve their students and employees, providing counsel on human resources and employment law matters,  drafting and negotiating contracts, navigating compliance with open government and state ethics laws, overseeing competitive bidding procurement procedures, advising on taxation and public finance, and resolving and litigating disputes when they arise.

The lawyers in our Education Practice Group also work on public financings when our clients are ready for growth. With experience acting as bond counsel, borrower’s counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriter’s counsel, and lender’s counsel, our lawyers are ready and able to assist in any capacity needed.

Speak with a Lawyer in Our Education Practice Group

Our lawyers know that a quality education can open doors to the greatest opportunities, and we are dedicated to assisting our clients in furthering their missions. For more information regarding the Education Practice Group at HAHS, please contact Practice Group Chairperson Heather K. Hudson or any of the other lawyers in the Practice Group.

Employment Consulting

The lawyers in our Employment Consulting Practice Group assist companies of all sizes with all aspects of employment law compliance and workforce liability risk management. By fully integrating with our clients yet remaining as outside counsel, we are uniquely positioned to provide representation for sensitive employment law situations. We assist our clients with all aspects of the employment relationship, from developing company-wide policies and procedures to providing counsel to management, and our lawyers make themselves available to our clients’ in-house attorneys, senior managers and human resources personnel on an as-needed basis.

Regardless of the size of a company’s workforce, ensuring compliance with all pertinent employment laws and regulations needs to be a priority. At Hand Arendall Harrison Sale, we assist our clients with all aspects of state and federal employment law compliance, and we provide our clients with the information, documentation and other resources they need to effectively mitigate their risk of employment practices liability. We provide strategic counseling for matters related to insurance coverage, benefit offerings, and other employment-related matters as well, working closely with our clients to offer practical solutions that are custom-tailored to their specific needs.

We Serve as Employment Counsel for Companies of All Sizes in a Broad Spectrum of Industries

We serve as employment counsel to companies ranging from startup enterprises to large corporations that have employees in multiple facilities located throughout the United States. Our clients operate in a broad spectrum of industries from construction to health care, and from ground transportation to aviation and high technology. The scope of our employment consulting practice is similarly broad, with our attorneys routinely advising companies on matters such as:

  • Anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy drafting and implementation
  • Employee discipline and discharge
  • Employment contract negotiations (as well as severance negotiations)
  • Employee training
  • Hiring and onboarding practices
  • Union and other organized labor issues
  • Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) compliance
  • Protection of employees’ personally identifiable information (PII) and health information
  • Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) compliance
  • Workers’ compensation insurance coverage and claim management
  • Workplace investigations

Learn More about the Services Provided by Our Employment Consulting Practice Group

For more information regarding the Employment Consulting Practice Group at Hand Arendall Harrison Sale, please contact Practice Group Leader Mark Waggoner or any of the other lawyers in the Practice Group.

Biographical Information

Matthew R. Brooks is an associate with Hand Arendall Harrison . His practice is focused on Civil Litigation, dealing primarily in insurance claims, commercial disputes, and construction litigation.

Matt earned his Juris Doctorate from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida where he also served as the Vice President of the Student Veterans Law Symposium. Matt grew up in southeastern Kentucky and earned his B.A. from Morehead State University (KY). After completing his undergraduate degree in 2004, Matt spent 9 years in the U.S. Marines serving in ground infantry and armor occupational specialties. During this service, he completed multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In addition, Matt spent 2 years as a project officer in future technologies at the Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, VA.

Mr. Brooks joined Hand Arendall Harrison Sale in July 2021.

Admissions

Florida State Bar

Education

J.D., Florida State University College of Law, 2021
B.A., Morehead State University (KY), 2004

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