Title IX & Sexual Misconduct Defense

A college or university sexual misconduct matter can move quickly. A student may receive notice of a complaint, an interim restriction or no-contact directive, a request for an interview, or notice that a disciplinary process has begun. The allegations may concern conduct from months earlier, and the student may be asked to respond before understanding what evidence the school has collected.

The stakes can extend beyond a campus sanction: suspension or expulsion, loss of scholarships or athletic opportunities, damage to professional plans, and reputational harm. In some cases, the same allegations can also attract law-enforcement attention.

Bedi & Singer represents students in Title IX and campus disciplinary matters, including disciplinary hearings and appeals, and represents individuals facing sexual misconduct and harassment allegations in internal investigations.

Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Sexual harassment can fall within Title IX, but a school may also address alleged misconduct under its own student conduct code even when the allegations fall outside the federal Title IX definition or jurisdictional requirements.

The procedures, possible sanctions, evidentiary rules, and appeal rights may depend on which policy the school is using. The first step is often identifying the exact allegation, the governing policy, the procedural stage, and the deadlines already running.

Each school also has its own code, procedures, timelines, evidentiary provisions, and appeal rules, and may impose interim or supportive measures while the matter is pending. A campus investigation is not informal just because it is not a criminal case: interviews, written statements, electronic communications, witness accounts, and hearing testimony can shape the outcome.

Sexual misconduct cases often turn on disputed accounts, context, credibility, communications, and the sequence of events. The defense may require careful review of messages, social-media records, photographs, location information, witness testimony, prior statements, and the school’s investigative record.

Depending on the stage of the matter, representation can include:

• Preparing for an investigative interview
• Identifying relevant evidence
• Developing questions for witnesses
• Preparing for a hearing
• Evaluating whether the school is following its own procedures, and challenging procedural errors
• Pursuing an appeal

When criminal exposure is possible, the campus strategy should account for that risk. What helps in a university process is not always advisable in a criminal investigation, and coordinating those concerns early can be important.

Jonathan Bedi and Dena Singer work on Bedi & Singer’s cases together, discussing strategy, evidence, interviews, motions, and other major decisions, with associates contributing where their involvement benefits the client.

Clients are told not only what is happening but why. That can matter when a client is navigating an unfamiliar process while dealing with significant personal and reputational stress.

Outside the campus setting, misconduct allegations may arise through an employer, professional organization, board, school, or other institution. Bedi & Singer has represented athletes, executives, religious leaders, and students in internal investigations involving allegations ranging from financial fraud to sexual harassment.

Both Jonathan Bedi and Dena Singer have successfully defended individuals facing misconduct allegations, helping clients avoid publicity and criminal charges.