Harris Beach has expanded its state wide Educational Institutions Industry Team with the addition of attorney Joanna L. Silver, who is well-known for her higher education practice in the metropolitan New York and tri-state area. Ms. Silver has joined Harris Beach as a partner in the firm’s New York City office.
Ms. Silver advises colleges, universities and other academic entities on a broad range of matters, including academic and college affairs, student and residential life, formation of entities and foundations, provision of services to students and staff with disabilities, immigration, intellectual property, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), records and transcript issues, internal grievance and disciplinary procedures, discrimination and Title IX issues, school policy development and implementation, regulatory matters, construction, financial aid, accreditation and recertification and e-learning. She also advises institutions on faculty contracts, tenure, termination and promotion. Ms. Silver represents her clients before the New York State Division of Human Rights and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). In addition, she regularly trains academic administration, faculty and staff on such issues as FERPA, business immigration, sexual harassment and board governance.
In her capacity as counsel to colleges and universities, Ms. Silver is engaged in many aspects of immigration law, including nonimmigrant visa petitions (H-1B, O-1, etc.), immigrant visa petitions and lawful permanent residence (PERM, outstanding professor or researcher, alien of extraordinary ability, special handling), student issues (F-1, J-1, OPT, SEVIS, etc.) and employment issues including Form I-9 compliance and taxation. In this area of the law, Ms. Silver has been quoted in Crain’s New York Business, Forbes and Employment Law 360. In addition, she has been an invited speaker on these topics at nationally attended professional conferences.
Ms. Silver is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She served as a trustee for the Old Westbury College Foundation, Inc. from 2006-2009 and has been serving as a trustee for the Kingsborough Community College Foundation since 2010.
