Amy Fabiano

Amy is a skilled higher education attorney and member of the firm’s higher education and private schools and labor and employment teams. With a particular focus on education law, she counsels clients on complex legal and compliance issues facing colleges, universities, public K-12, and independent schools, often serving as an institution’s interim or official outside general counsel and/or Title IX coordinator. Amy has extensive experience advising leadership and boards on employment, civil rights compliance, student and employee conduct, HR matters, policy development and training, athletics, contract negotiations, faculty matters, FERPA, and board governance.

• Serves as outside general counsel for several colleges in Massachusetts, standing in the place of the college’s in house legal team, advising on complex legal and risk management issues from a holistic, campus, and mission-based perspective
• Works closely with college, university, public K-12, and independent school presidents, CFOs, provosts, heads of school, HR administrators, civil rights staff, and boards on day-to-day legal issues and risk management, and manages outside legal counsel for litigation matters.
• Serves as interim civil rights coordinator, conducts investigations, and serves as a hearing chair or staff to a hearing panel for civil rights matters (Title IX, Title VI, disability, retaliation) and student and faculty conduct issues.
• Drafts Title IX, Title VI, disability, and other civil rights policies and procedures to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Conducts legally privileged investigations and after-action reviews when institutions receive complaints or identify concerns, often resulting in reports and presentations to an institution’s leadership team and/or board.
• Drafts and revises student handbooks, faculty handbooks, and employee handbooks
• Advises on and drafts policies and procedures, such as FERPA, privacy, acceptable use, IT, working with minors, study abroad, student leave, and others
• Advises on compliance with NCAA regulations and related policies and processes for collegiate athletics programs and athletic conferences.
• Represents clients facing complaints for discrimination, harassment, or retaliation filed against the US Department of Education’s OCR, MCAD, and EEOC, and other related federal and state agencies.
• Assists clients in assessing the value of mediating disputes, including before agencies or through private mediation, and in seeking alternative options to resolve a dispute to avoid costly litigation.
• Provides Title IX, VI, disability, and other compliance training to leadership, Title IX/EEO teams, staff, faculty, and students.

• Recognized as a Recommended Lawyer for Industry Focus: Education, Legal 500 United States, 2025-2026

• Member, Committee on the Legal Resources Library (2025-2026), Committee on Membership and Members Services (2024-2025), Committee on Virtual Programming (2022-2023), National Association of College and University Attorneys
• Member, Steering Committee for the College & University Law Section (2024-2026), Boston Bar Association

• Board of Directors, Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
• Board of Directors, Lexington Playcare Center