News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Welcome New Associate
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of a new associate attorney. Brendan Collins is a recent graduate of Notre Dame Law School and is currently awaiting results from the Massachusetts Bar Exam. He will be practicing in the Labor and Employment Department at MHTL.
Brendan was born outside San Francisco, California and attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Ma. Prior to law school, Brendan provided legal aid to marginalized communities in San Antonio, TX at Catholic Charities through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. In particular, Brendan was a Court Monitor in Bexar County, which involved checking the wellbeing of adults under legal guardianship, and also a legal assistant for Catholic Charities in their needed work.
While at Notre Dame Law School, Brendan spent three years working to advance the rights of the LGBTQ community at Notre Dame by holding leadership positions on the law school’s LGBT Law Forum. As a 2L, Brendan helped organize an event that hosted Jim Obergefell, a named Plaintiff from the landmark marriage equality case, which was one of the most attended events in the law school’s history. Brendan also was a member of the LGBT Bar Association, and secured funding for eight Notre Dame Law Students student to be able to attend the Lavender Law Career Fair in the summer of 2019. As a 3L, Brendan was the President of the LGBT Law Forum and organized a symposium to discuss Title VII prior to the Supreme Court’s decision Bostock v. Clayton County.
During law school, Brendan spent a semester working in Washington, DC in the Office of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior. Brendan was also a member of the Journal of Legislation and his Note, Back to the Farm: A Call to Re-Invigorate New York City’s Biosolid Program, was published in 2019.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ISSUES REVISED TITLE IX REGULATIONS
On April 19, 2024, the United States Department of Education (“DOE”) issued final regulations for Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. The new regulations go into effect on August 1, 2024, so school districts are encouraged to review their policies and procedures and provide staff training on these new regulations as soon as possible. The final regulations continue to list specific elements that must be included in any policy, such as range of disciplinary actions, standards of evidence, and procedures. The DOE has provided template policies here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/resource-nondiscrimination-policies.pdf and Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane will be creating model policies and notice letters as well.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ISSUES REVISED TITLE IX REGULATIONS
On April 19, 2024, the United States Department of Education (“DOE”) issued final regulations for Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. The new regulations go into effect on August 1, 2024, so school districts are encouraged to review their policies and procedures and provide staff training on these new regulations as soon as possible. The final regulations continue to list specific elements that must be included in any policy, such as range of disciplinary actions, standards of evidence, and procedures. The DOE has provided template policies here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/resource-nondiscrimination-policies.pdf and Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane will be creating model policies and notice letters as well.
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