Firm conducts '1st Amendment Boot Camp'

Clark Hill will conduct a "First Amendment Boot Camp ?for School Administrators" on Thursday, August 11, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the University Club of MSU in Lansing.

This half-day, in-person conference offers a deep dive into First Amendment rights in schools. Topics include:

• The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Michigan's Constitution

• Public school as a free speech forum

• Students' freedom of expression

• Employees' freedom of expression

• Third parties

• Campaign Finance Act

• Board of education survival skills

Among the Clark Hill attorneys speaking at the Boot Camp will be Jeremy S. Motz and Joseph B. Urban of the firm's Birmingham office.

Motz focuses on assisting public and private sector entities in a wide variety of transactional matters related to contracted services, labor and employment, construction, real estate, public procurements, intellectual property, and corporate governance.

Motz regularly counsels public school districts and charter schools on educational and operational issues such as outsourcing and contracted services, purchasing and procurements, school building construction, real estate, wireless communication (cell tower) facilities, and compliance with the wide-ranging laws governing public bodies, such as the Revised School Code, the Freedom of Information Act, the Open Meetings Act, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Motz is a frequent presenter on various legal issues facing public school districts and other educational entities. He presents at conferences and seminars for the Michigan School Business Officials, the Michigan Association of School Boards, the Michigan Institute for Educational Management, and other local business groups throughout the State.

Urban counsels school districts and public school academies on the operational issues involved in administering educational organizations, including compliance with the Revised School Code, the Open Meetings Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and other laws governing public bodies.

Urban represents school employers in the areas of collective bargaining, grievances and arbitration, unfair labor practices, wrongful discharge, and day-to-day matters arising in personnel administration.

Listed in the Bond Buyer's Municipal Marketplace (the "Red Book"), Urban has represented Michigan school district and municipal clients, as well as private entities, providing financing to these organizations for over a decade. He regularly serves as bond and underwriter's counsel for school districts, public school academies, and other governmental units as well as counseling them in the acquisition and disposition of real property and the design and implementation of deficit elimination plans.

Cost for the "First Amendment Boot Camp ?for School Administrators" is $125 per person. To register, visit www.clarkhill.com and click on "News & Events."