Laurie R. Bishop

Laurie guides clients through a myriad of complex and sensitive legal issues. She strategizes with a client on discrete employee or compliance issues, and advocates aggressively for the client’s interests on high-exposure matters. In all cases, her goal is the same: fix the issues that keep her clients awake at night.

Biography

Laurie R. Bishop’s is a partner at the firm whose practice includes advising colleges, universities, and nonprofit organizations on their policies and procedures, and aiding them in various risk-management decisions. Working with a diverse body of clients, including in her role as the General Counsel at Berklee College of Music, Laurie has experience in a wide array of issues unique to higher education, including the areas of complex contracts, institutional policies and handbooks, campus safety and security, reputational risk management, faculty misconduct, student affairs and various state, federal, and international compliance issues, such as Title IX, the Clery Act, data privacy and security, Massachusetts regulations concerning summer camps and minors on campus, Massachusetts’ criminal background check regulations, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and state and federal employment laws.

Laurie also represents companies and non-profit institutions on various employment, compliance, and risk management issues, including privacy laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, anti-discrimination statutes, contracts, restrictive covenants, and employment policies and practices. Laurie defends clients in employment discrimination suits, in both court and administrative agencies, and she has experience in dealing with covenants not to compete, severance and release agreements, policies and handbooks, and minority shareholder issues in closely-held corporations. Laurie also represents and advises clients on complex business issues including intellectual property matters, contract negotiations and disputes, and sweepstakes and promotions.

Laurie has trained managers and employees on a variety of matters, including litigation avoidance tactics, employment statutes, and leadership. In addition, she has presented on a variety of topics to clients in numerous industries, including exposure and liability issues under the Massachusetts Wage Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, the impact of donor misconduct, high level and high stakes internal investigations, and has presented on sexual harassment in the workplace to an international audience.

Bar Admissions

  • United States District Court for the Districts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, 2008
  • Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, 2008
  • Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2008
  • United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 2011

Education

  • Northeastern University School of Law, J.D., Merit Scholar, 2008
  • Tufts University, B.A., cum laude, 2003

Experience

Prior to joining Hirsch Roberts Weinstein, Laurie was a litigation attorney in the Boston office of a regional law firm. In that position, Laurie’s work focused on higher education and employment law, as well as business litigation. In particular, Laurie regularly represented colleges and universities on tort matters, as well as large restaurant clients throughout New England on employment cases in state and federal administrative agencies and courts.

During law school, Laurie interned at the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts (Civil Division). While completing her law degree, she also worked in the legal department of a large publicly-traded corporation, as well as a litigation firm. Prior to that, Laurie worked as the full-time manager of a local business while attending Tufts University.

Publications & Appearances

  • Discussion Group Leader, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Tips and Tricks for Successful Management of Community Relations,” NACUA Annual Conference 2022
  • Presenter, Practical and Legal Considerations for Managing a Multi-State Workforce, NACUA Webinar, May 2022
  • Panelist, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives on Campus”, Boston Bar Association College & University Conference, April 2022
  • Discussion Group Leader, “No Comment: Navigating Employment-Related Public Relations Crises”, NACUA Employment Law CLE, March 2022
  • Panelist, “Under My Umbrella? The Changing Landscape of Insurance Coverage and Liability,” NACUA Conference, June 2021
  • Presenter, “Economic (Un)Sustainability of Higher Education’s Existing Business Model: Innovative Ways to Restructure Higher Education and Related Legal Issues,” NACUA, March 2021
  • Presenter, “Tips from the Trenches: Crisis Management & Communications in Higher Ed,”  Boston Bar Association, December 2019
  • Presenter, “The State and Federal Legislative Response to the #MeToo Movement,” Boston Bar Association Employment Law Conference, October 2019
  • Presenter, Women’s International Network (WIN) 7th Annual Retreat, October 2019
  • Presenter, “Discussion Concerning Various Legislative Responses to the #MeToo Movement,” Boston Bar Association Employment Law Conference, October 2019
  • Presenter, “Revoke, Rescind, Return? Handling the Impact of Donor and Honoree Misconduct,” NACUA Annual Conference, June 2019
  • Presenter, “Investigations of Allegations against Faculty and Senior Leadership: Considerations and Strategies for Effective Management of Challenging Cases,” Bar Association, November 2018
  • Author, “Calling it Quits or Moving in Together? Considerations for Small Liberal Arts Colleges in the Wake of Mount Ida” (http://bit.ly/2CRPTrj)
  • Presenter, “Introduction to the Massachusetts Wage Act and Recent Development,” Boston Bar Association
  • Presenter, “Update on Title IX Litigation: Lessons Learned and Some Predictions,” NACUA Annual Conference, June 2017
  • Author, “Concussions in Student Athletes: Avoiding Liability and Defending Claims by Injured Students and Others,” University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA)
  • Author, “Arming Campus Police: Managing the Risk, University Risk Management & Insurance Association” (http://bit.ly/2K6OsLw)
  • Presenter, “The Ten Commandments of Contracting, University Risk Management and Insurance Association,” Northeast Regional Conference
  • Presenter, “Contracting 101, National Association of Educational Buyers”
  • Presenter, “Campus Police: To Arm or Not to Arm,” University Risk Management and Insurance Association
  • Presenter, “FLSA Update and Application to Higher Education Jobs,” The Boston Consortium
  • Presenter, “Title IX,” The Boston Consortium
  • Presenter, “Promoting Diversity: A Tool to Manage the Risks of Employment Discrimination Claims,” University Risk Management and Insurance Association

Affiliations

  • Member, Boston Bar Association
  • Member, National Association of College and University Attorneys
  • Member, Women’s Bar Association

Awards

  • Recipient of the 2022 Emerging Women Leaders in the Law Award by Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
  • 2020 Lawyer of the Year in Education Law in Boston by Best Lawyers in America
  • 2020 Best Lawyers in New England by Best Lawyers in America
  • 2019 In-House Leader by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for her work at Berklee College of Music
  • Recognized in Best Lawyers in America, 2019-present
  • Named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer, 2021-present
  • Named a Massachusetts Rising Star by Super Lawyers, 2013-2018

Thank you for reaching out to contact Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP (“the Firm”). Before you send your message, we wanted to make sure you are aware of the following. Please do not send any confidential information in response to this link. Sending an e-mail to the Firm or any of its attorneys does not give rise to an attorney-client relationship, and will not be deemed to disqualify the Firm from undertaking any engagement for a current or future client. Before any attorney-client engagement may be formed, the Firm will need to check for possible conflicts of interest, you will need to consider whether you wish to retain the Firm as counsel, and we will need to consider whether we wish to accept the potential engagement. In the meantime, the Firm reserves the right to represent parties with interests adverse to you.

Accept Decline