Brigid A. Harrington

Overview

Brigid Harrington is an accomplished Employment & Labor attorney with a depth of experience assisting higher education clients with matters involving civil rights compliance including Title IX, VAWA, ADA, Title VI, Title VII, athletics compliance and other laws and regulations related to discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, and retaliation. She works with institutions to draft compliant non-discrimination and harassment policies and procedures, conducts investigations into Title IX and other civil rights matters, and trains faculty, staff, and students on their obligations as members of a college or university community.

Brigid also supports clients across a variety of industries, including secondary schools, professional organizations, biotech companies and nonprofits. She has conducted internal investigations and provided guidance on climate assessments and other sensitive issues for employers. While at Bowditch, Brigid has served in interim roles for clients to assist them in managing civil rights and Title IX compliance.

As an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, Brigid contributes to the Committee on Virtual Programming. She has also served as a member of the organizing committee of the Boston Bar Association’s annual higher education conference. She has received certifications from ATIXA in Title IX Administration and Title IX Athletics Compliance, and has received training in Title IX compliance from the Student Conduct Institute at SUNY.

As part of her work at Bowditch, Brigid is editor of the firm’s Campus Counsel blog.

Before Bowditch

Prior to joining Bowditch, Brigid was the Director of Civil Rights at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she managed a staff of investigators and deputy coordinators and implemented a new Title IX Policy and sexual and gender-based harassment process to ensure that policies, investigations, and trainings were in compliance with federal and state law. She also worked at Harvard University as an Investigator for the Office of Dispute Resolution. Prior to her work in higher education, Brigid was an Assistant District Attorney in New York City.

Besides work

Brigid is a sponsor/volunteer at Citizens for Juvenile Justice and the Rian Immigration Center. She’s also an avid skier and enjoys summers on Cape Cod.

Affiliations

Member, Committee on Virtual Programming, National Association of College and University Attorneys
Member, Society for Human Resource Management
Member, Boston Bar Association
Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
Member, Women’s Bar Association
Member, Essex County Bar Association
Member, New York Bar Association

Articles + Talks

Articles

“Department of Education Notification of Borrower Defense Claims,” Bowditch, 2023
“EEOC Issues Regulations Pursuant to the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act,” Bowditch, 2023
“Supreme Court Blocks Use of Race in College Admissions,” Bowditch, 2023
“DOE Issues Proposed Rules on Athletics and Gender Identity,” Bowditch, 2023
“Federal Court Rules that Tax-Exempt Private Schools Must Comply with Title IX,” Bowditch, 2022
“Department of Education Issues Proposed Changes to Title IX Regulations,” Bowditch, 2022
“Pandemic-Caused Shift to Remote Learning Has Led to Novel Civil Rights Issues,” New England Board of Higher Education, 2022

Talks

How the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision Could Impact Businesses’ DEI Policies, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2023
The Supreme Court on Campus, Bowditch Higher Education Roundtable Series, 2023
Breaking Down the Supreme Court’s Block on Race-Based Affirmative Action in College Admissions, Bowditch, 2023
Economics of Higher Ed, Boston Business Journal, 2023
Investigations – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Bowditch Employment Law Update, 2023
Accommodation Requests in a Post-Pandemic World, Bowditch Higher Education Roundtable Series, 2022
2022 Proposed Title IX Regulations: What You Need to Know, Bowditch, 2022
Title IX: How to prepare for the new rules on handling sexual misconduct, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2022
Mental Health on Campus, Boston Bar Association’s Higher Education Legal Conference, 2022 (Moderator)
13th Annual Employment Law Update – Part 2, Bowditch, 2022

Media Mentions

“Will the Feds Strip Colleges’ Funds Over Anti-Jewish, Muslim Bias?” (Inside Higher Ed)
“Christian Hillsdale College failed students who reported sexual violence, lawsuit alleges” (USA Today)
“How will the U. decide if gymnastics coach Tom Farden crossed the line?” (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Bar Admissions

Massachusetts
New York
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

Education

J.D., Boston College Law School, cum lade
B.A., International Relations, University of Pennsylvania, magna cum laude

Experience

Policy Drafting

Brigid has drafted policies and procedures addressing sexual and gender-based harassment to comply with the 2020 Title IX regulations, and the 2021 Massachusetts Campus Sexual Violence Act. She has also drafted employee and student conduct policies, including “ethical relationships” policies governing romantic or sexual interactions between university employees, or between employees and students, and policies regarding use of service and emotional support animals on campus.

Investigations

Brigid has conducted numerous civil rights investigations, including Title IX matters, matters involving non-Title IX sexual misconduct, and matters involving harassment or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, and/or disability. Brigid has also conducted investigations into employee issues and student misconduct. Brigid’s investigations have included claims against students, staff, and faculty members at educational institutions as well as stakeholders in other organizations. She conducts her investigations in a thorough and prompt manner, and has handled many sensitive issues, including matters that received national media attention.

Accommodations and Supportive Measures

Brigid has worked to coordinate individualized supportive measures in Title IX and sexual misconduct cases, and has drafted and overseen procedures for religious and/or disability-based accommodations in the workplace. She oversaw the implementation of a process for determining whether exemptions to an employer’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement were warranted as religious accommodations and has supported employers in addressing requests for accommodation post-COVID.

Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Process

Brigid has used her expertise and in-depth understanding of the 2020 Title IX regulations and requirements of the Massachusetts Campus Sexual Violence Act to guide institutional compliance in case management, training, agreements with outside service providers or law enforcement agencies, and reporting to state and federal agencies. She is also familiar with the NCAA, NSF, NASA, and other organizations’ requirements for sexual harassment training, policy dissemination, and reporting requirements for investigations of student athletes.

MCAD/EEOC Representation

Brigid has represented employers in claims for discrimination, harassment, or retaliation filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Training

Brigid has provided Title IX, VAWA, and Massachusetts -compliant training on harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and retaliation; reporting obligations of employees; NCAA and NSF-complaint training; training for confidential resource providers; and bystander intervention training.

OTHER EXPERIENCE

Conducts investigations for Ivy + institutions and private employers involving sensitive matters, including allegations of misconduct that occurred over a period of years, matters with multiple parties and allegations, matters involving high profile faculty and executives and athletics employees, and matters involving allegations of criminal conduct
- Completed investigation of allegations of race-based misconduct by the head coach of a Division I sports team
- Completed investigation of numerous allegations of sexual harassment and professional misconduct made by employees against a university department head
- Completed investigation of allegations of decades old criminal conduct by a nonprofit executive
Serves as hearing officer or individual decision maker for institutions of higher education throughout the Northeast, including multiparty hearings with complex evidence
Serves as a resource to appeals panels and Title IX coordinators regarding institutional policies and decision making
Served as interim Title IX coordinator for three higher education institutions for time periods ranging from six weeks to more than one year
Provides guidance and support to Title IX coordinators and other administrators as outside General Counsel to several colleges and universities