Womble Bond Dickinson has bolstered its highly regarded practice representing colleges and universities with the addition of D.C.-based attorney Stephen J. Vaughan. Vaughan, who joins the firm as a partner in the Education and Employment teams in the Business Litigation Practice Group, represents colleges, universities, and related organizations throughout the country on a variety of legal and compliance issues. In addition to his focus on higher education, Vaughan continues his more than 20 years of experience representing businesses, including international franchisors, in litigation, employment counseling and litigation, and internal investigations. Vaughan joins Womble from Lathrop GPM.
“It is an honor to join a firm known for supporting clients and attorneys with top tier resources and staff,” Vaughan said.
Womble Bond Dickinson has a long history of representing colleges and universities – first in the Southeast and then across the country through a cross-disciplinary team that includes labor and employment, privacy, non-profit/tax, litigation, and intellectual property attorneys. In anticipation of a number of regulatory changes impacting higher education, the firm continues to extend that reputation across its national footprint.
“Colleges and universities face an increasingly complex regulatory landscape with limited resources. Our team includes experienced higher education lawyers, many who have been in-house themselves, to support our clients proactively, efficiently, and with a deep level of understanding of the challenges that they face. Stephen’s experience both in higher education and beyond will add to our strengths in serving our clients,” said Beth Tyner Jones, leader of the firm’s Education and School Law Team, head of its Employment and Pensions Service Team and Managing Partner of the Research Triangle Park and Raleigh, NC offices.
Vaughan regularly represents clients in matters involving Title IX, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, Title VII, harassment and discrimination, employment law, and allegations of other individual, organizational, and institutional misconduct. He also represents clients involved in Congressional, DOJ, and state and federal agency investigations in the higher education industry and beyond. His work also includes conducting compliance audits and investigations, drafting policies and procedures, and advising college and university senior leadership and staff on all matters pertaining to sexual and other institutional misconduct processes. Additionally, he serves as an independent third-party investigator, decision-maker, and hearing officer for colleges and universities. He has developed several training programs based on all this experience, which he has conducted for institutions across the country. He regularly speaks to higher education institutions on student and employment issues including speech issues challenging campuses today.
Vaughn is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and received a Bachelor of Science from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He was featured in The International Who’s Who of Lawyers from 2016 to 2020 and was named a “Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer” in Super Lawyers from 2013 to 2016.
