Husch Blackwell has added Ben Irwin as an Associate to its Educational Institutions group, working from the firm’s Kansas City office. He concentrates his practice on a range of issues specific to administrators at colleges and universities. In addition, he advises educational institutions on compliance and governance matters relating to students and faculty.
Before joining Husch Blackwell, Irwin worked in the Office of General Counsel for Valparaiso University in Indiana. There he prepared responses to discrimination complaints filed against the university; drafted and negotiated contracts; advised school officials on legal matters; drafted and updated policies; and ensured that the university remained in compliance with current laws and regulations. While in law school, he advised amateur athletes — from the high school level all the way to the Olympic level — as part of the Valparaiso University School of Law sports law clinic. He previously was a special education teacher at Eastbrook High School in Marion, Ind., for two years and a football and baseball coach there for three years.
Irwin earned his J.D., cum laude, from Valparaiso University School of Law (2012), his M.S. in sports administration from Valparaiso University Graduate School (2011) and his B.A., cum laude, in social studies education from Anderson University (2007) in Anderson, Ind.
With more than 85 years of experience in education law, Husch Blackwell’s Educational Institutions group is a recognized leader in representing public and private educational institutions. Attorneys in the education practice devote substantially all of their time to serving the needs of public and private elementary schools, secondary schools, institutions of higher education, and other education-related businesses and organizations.