Akin Gump’s Universities and Colleges Team Pens University Business Article on Reducing Risk in the Hiring Process
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University Business has published the article “Beyond the background check,” written by Akin Gump litigation partner Estela Diaz, senior counsel Catherine Creely and counsel Amanda Kane, all members of the firm’s universities and colleges practice. The article looks at the vetting process that colleges and universities should employ when making high-level hires, such as provosts, deans, coaches, athletic directors or presidents.
The authors observe that a formal vetting system is necessary, given the high costs associated “with finding, wooing and securing high-level hires—and the associated consequences if they fail.” A comprehensive system of due diligence, they write, “will allow the hiring decision-makers to understand the legal, financial and reputational risks associated with these hires.”
Diaz, Creely and Kane offer several best practices for the vetting process, including separating the vetting and hiring functions and identifying risk factors. They also note that anyone involved in the vetting process “should be experienced in executive background investigations and risk analysis.”