Bernstein Shur Shareholder Kai McGintee Provides Legal Perspective on Common Misconduct Scenarios at 2023 NAIS Annual Conference

On Tuesday, February 21, Kai McGintee, Bernstein Shur Shareholder and Co-Chair of firm’s Investigations & Resolutions Practice Group, will speak on two panels at the 2023 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference in Las Vegas. The NAIS Annual Conference is the premier professional development and networking event for administrators, trustees, and teachers at independent schools, attracting more than 5,000 participants over the course of three days. NAIS represents more than 2,000 national and international member schools.

Kai’s practice focuses on representing and counseling educational institutions on all aspects of employment and student matters. Kai is also a sought-after external investigator in sensitive and high-profile misconduct cases throughout the country. She has conducted and overseen hundreds of investigations involving sexual misconduct, harassment, discrimination, and other improper conduct.

Read below for more information about the panels, and click here to register.

Navigating Challenging Situations: Leading Through Crisis & Conflict (A Scenario-Based Discussion)

In this highly interactive session facilitated by a team of legal and crisis professionals, school leaders will tackle real-world scenarios related to student, employee, trustee, and parent challenges in independent schools. During this discussion, we will cover several legal and risk-related trends facing school leaders this academic year and topics such as educator misconduct, gender identity, and campus threats. We’ll talk through the various ways to navigate some of the stickier, trickier situations and highlight considerations for heads of schools and their teams. We’ll identify and discuss best practices and legal and risk or crisis management tips as heads share strategies that have worked for them.

Discussion Facilitators: Megan Mann, NAIS Vice President of Legal Education & Support; Myra McGovern, NAIS Vice President of Media; Julie Fay, Independent School Attorney & Independent School Investigator, Shipman Goodwin; Kai McGintee, Independent School Attorney & Independent School Investigator, Bernstein Shur

Student-on-Student Misconduct: What to Do & How to Investigate (A Scenario-Based Discussion)

How can school leaders most effectively handle student-on-student misconduct cases, from grade school to high school? In this scenario-based session, school leaders will discuss real-world situations involving student misconduct. We will cover misconduct that occurs on and off of school grounds, reviewing hypotheticals that apply to both day and boarding schools. Through this scenario work, we will identify and discuss several legal and risk-related trends facing school leaders this academic year. We will explore the anatomy of an investigation, discussing when and how and who to involve when investigating misconduct. This discussion will highlight considerations for heads of schools and their teams and pitfalls to avoid. We’ll review best practices, offer legal, risk, and crisis management tips, and talk through some of the nuances of these cases. Heads are encouraged to share strategies, supported by a team of legal and crisis professionals who will help lead the group discussion.

Discussion Facilitators: Megan Mann, NAIS Vice President, Legal Education & Support; Myra McGovern, NAIS Vice President of Media; Julie Fay, Independent School Attorney, Shipman Goodwin; Kai McGintee, Independent School Attorney & Independent School Investigator, Bernstein Shur