Brett Sokolow comments on New York Magazine's "Why, Exactly, Are Colleges So Bad at Dealing with Rape?"

Brett Sokolow stated that he takes exception to the narrow characterization of his role in this article.  On Friday, on the front page of the NY Times, he defended the actions of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in their well-publicized case.  His ability to vouch for Hobart and William Smith would mean nothing if he always took the side of colleges. He’d be nothing more than a shill for them.  Because Brett’s firm takes cases for victims, cases for accused students and cases for colleges, it has the ability to claim impartial expertise.  Anything less would neutralize the value of NCHERM Group consultants in court as experts on Title IX.  The fact is that The NCHERM Group rejects most of the cases it is offered, so they aren't just guns for hire for anyone who can pay.  Instead, each case The NCHERM Group undertakes, no matter what side it may be on, is based on a principled stand behind the client’s position.  Both the esteem in which The NCHERM Group is held and its winning case record attest to the care in which it undertakes cases.  Further, while the article makes it seem odd that The NCHERM Group and the White House are on the same page about the merits of the civil rights investigation model, it was The NCHERM Group that suggested the idea to the White House.  The NCHERM Group has long been a champion of this approach as the right solution to the problematic due process hearing panel model in widespread use on college campuses to address sexual misconduct, and is pleased that the White House sees the merits in this approach enough to commend it to colleges and universities.  

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Mashable quotes Sokolow in "20% of Colleges Flout Federal Law in Handling Sexual Assault, Report Finds"

Brett Sokolow, president of the consulting and law firm the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, expressed concern to the Chronicle of Higher Ed about the mounting pressure on institutions from the White House and the Office for Civil Rights to punish alleged rapists.

"There is a startling and disturbing lack of due process and guidance as to what alleged perpetrators should be doing during this process," he said, pointing out that a flawed process can be unfair to both the accused and the accuser.

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Sokolow quoted in The New York Times' "Reporting Rape, and Wishing She Hadn't: How One College Handled a Sexual Assault Complaint"

“Campuses are really frustrated by knowing so much about a given case and how reasonable they were and they can’t tell this story,” said Brett A. Sokolow, a legal adviser to the school. “It’s easy to paint them as the bad guy because they are in a position where they can’t defend themselves.”

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The Chronicle of Higher Education quotes Sokolow, "In Sexual-Misconduct Policies, Difficulty Arises in Defining 'Yes'"

Those standards are impractical, says Brett A. Sokolow, president of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, a consulting and law firm that advises colleges. "Verbal consent isn’t human nature," he says. In the heat of the moment, willing partners often don’t pause to ask each other questions.

But nonverbal communication can lead to misunderstandings. "It actually requires a higher level of communication between partners, so people don’t misinterpret actions," Mr. Sokolow says.

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USA Today quotes Sokolow in "Campus free-speech limits targeted by lawsuits"

Brett Sokolow, founder of The National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, a legal consultant for colleges, says he discourages colleges from punishing students for violating such policies because it "always becomes controversial."

"With our clients we make them understand that there's a balance to strike between protecting the safety of a community and addressing speech that is threatening or hurtful," he says. Regarding FIRE, he adds, "I don't like the way they take on the cases, but most of the time when they take on a campus they're right."

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Brett Sokolow quoted in The Washington Post's "Catholic U. student recounts her struggles after reporting a sex assault"

But there are at least two sides to every allegation. Brett A. Sokolow, president of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, said he worries that many students accused of sexual misconduct are “getting much less of a fair shake than they used to.” Accused students often say they are the victims.

Sokolow said some cases that in years past would have been considered “drunk sex” are now being examined for disciplinary violations. Colleges, he said, “have got to get this thing just right.”

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