Title IX Hearings.
Providing Highly Experienced Decision Makers for Your Title IX Hearing
At every stage of the grievance process, educational institutions face societal and legal pressure to implement a fair and objective procedure and to comply with the Title IX regulations. One of the most crucial aspects of the Title IX grievance process is the formal Title IX hearing.
BartlettJames provides trained and highly experienced decision-makers to preside in these hearings. With years of judicial and higher education experience, we bring impartial decision-making, professional expertise, and exceptionally detailed, defensible work to your institution.
We emphasize compliance with the Title IX regulations and the implementing policies of our clients to assure parties receive a fair hearing and that your institution is best postured to survive any subsequent legal challenge. We are experienced in identifying the relevant evidence, assuring impartiality, and applying the appropriate safeguards to the process. Our experience in these matters also teaches us that every institution has a slightly different hearing procedure. Consequently, each of our decision-makers reviews your policy in advance and applies any institution specific procedures to ensure compliance with your policy and the federal Title IX regulations.
Bringing Judicial Experience and Impartiality to the Decision-Making Process
With decades of judicial experience and years spent working with educational institutions on Title IX cases and other sensitive legal matters, we are equipped to handle up to the largest scale, highest profile Title IX hearings.
Our team is well-acquainted with the nuances and complexities of Title IX cases and life on a college campus. We understand the universal pressure faced by college officials to address and resolve Title IX complaints effectively. In serving as decision-makers, we operate with your institution in mind by customizing our approach to your institution’s policy, assuring federal compliance, and maintaining a sensitivity to the legal pressures and potential litigation that can accompany any Title IX hearing.
Are you preparing for a Title IX hearing? BartlettJames provides public and private universities and colleges with decision-makers and the support necessary to conduct fair and transparent hearings.. Get in touch with us immediately if you anticipate the need for a Title IX hearing. We will always respond within one hour.
Team.
Donna Wright
Donna is regarded as one of the leading Title IX Decision Makers in America. Donna trains and oversees the BartlettJames team of retired judges who provide hearing assistance around the nation. Donna’s enviable 35-year career as an attorney and Military Judge marks her as one of the true leaders of our organization. She is superbly experienced in administrative, environmental, personnel, and contract law. Donna is based in Florida.
Donna Wright.
Donna is regarded as one of the leading Title IX Decision Makers in America. Donna trains and oversees the BartlettJames team of retired judges who provide hearing assistance around the nation. Donna’s enviable 35-year career as an attorney and Military Judge marks her as one of the true leaders of our organization. She is superbly experienced in administrative, environmental, personnel, and contract law. Donna is based in Florida.
Donna served on active duty with the U.S. Army as a Judge Advocate for over twenty years, including 11 years on the bench as a trial judge, presiding over a thousand courts-martial. She presided over innumerable cases involving murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking, larceny and a wide variety of felonies. Earlier in her career, she served as both a prosecutor and a defense counsel. In the latter capacity, she was often requested by name by female service members who appreciated the sensitivity and skill she brought to her position. Donna has been published extensively on the practice of military justice and developed pattern jury instructions for other military judges to use. She was hand-picked to conduct a sensitive pretrial hearing into sexual assault allegations against the highest-ranking enlisted Soldier in Europe, a case with wide-spread media attention.
Donna retired from the Army as a Colonel and went on to advise the Army as a civilian attorney in several positions, culminating in her role as the Division Counsel for a regional headquarters for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Through her background as a litigator, she has developed outstanding interviewing skills and has been trained to relate to special victims, such as women and children in sexual assault situations. Donna has also worked extensively with underrepresented minority groups during her career.
Donna was in the first class of women to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY in 1980. That experience has given her a unique perspective on gender dynamics, especially as they relate to women facing a challenging and hostile environment. She later graduated from Villanova University School of Law, with Honors, and subsequently she earned an LL.M. in Military Law, with a Criminal Law Specialty, from The Judge Advocate General’s School, U.S. Army, in Charlottesville, Virginia and an MBA from Hawaii Pacific University.
Laurel Wilkerson
Laurel is a highly experienced Title IX investigator. She also serves as one of our most respected Title IX decision-makers. Laurel is an attorney by training. Her career spanned 21 years in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where she served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, a criminal prosecutor, and in various other positions in administrative law, family law, and on the Army staff in policy positions at the Pentagon. Laurel served as a legal advisor to Department of Defense School Boards and as the Chief of Recruiting for Army lawyers at law schools throughout the United States.
Laurel Wilkerson.
Laurel is a highly experienced Title IX investigator. She also serves as one of our most respected Title IX decision-makers. Laurel is an attorney by training. Her career spanned 21 years in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where she served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, a criminal prosecutor, and in various other positions in administrative law, family law, and on the Army staff in policy positions at the Pentagon. Laurel served as a legal advisor to Department of Defense School Boards and as the Chief of Recruiting for Army lawyers at law schools throughout the United States.
After retiring from the military, Laurel proved herself an astute and highly successful business professional. Her business acumen is a frequent source of insight to many of our clients. She served as an Area Representative for a national franchise and purchased and co-owned the Oklahoma and Northern Texas territories and the rights to develop Marco’s Pizza Franchises in those areas. Laurel was responsible for opening/selling 40 stores in the area in five years. She owned/operated seven Marco’s Pizza Franchise Stores with annual sales exceeding $6 million dollars in revenue with 285 employees and supervised 12 other franchisees operating within the market. Laurel was named: Best AR/Franchisee of the Year – 3 three years, Top Sales in Franchise – two years, and Top Veteran Franchise Owner in the U.S. -- one year.
Laurel was based in Colorado from 2015 until November 2023. She served on the Summit County Seniors Foundation Board and on the board for the Summit 50 Plus organization (a 1200-member nonprofit that serves older adults in the community.) She delivered Meals on Wheels and worked for and supervised the Mountain Safety Patrol at Copper Mountain throughout the winters.
Laurel earned her business degree and law degree at the University of Georgia. She also holds an L.L.M. and an M.A. in national security and strategic studies.
Laurel currently resides in Tennessee.
Bruce Smith
Executive DirectorBruce is a co-founder and Executive Director of BartlettJames LLC. Bruce is a seasoned Title IX decision maker. He oversees the daily operations of the firm and chairs our Executive Committee. Bruce and co-founder Bert Nunley designed our nationally-regarded team with broad-based investigative capabilities, specifically tailored to address the increasing needs for transparent, in-depth and thorough investigations for institutions of higher learning. Bruce’s vision, enthusiasm and tireless work ethic shapes the strategic trajectory for the BartlettJames team in its engagements around the nation and the globe.
Bruce Smith.
Bruce is a co-founder and Executive Director of BartlettJames LLC. Bruce is a seasoned Title IX decision maker. He oversees the daily operations of the firm and chairs our Executive Committee. Bruce and co-founder Bert Nunley designed our nationally-regarded team with broad-based investigative capabilities, specifically tailored to address the increasing needs for transparent, in-depth and thorough investigations for institutions of higher learning. Bruce’s vision, enthusiasm and tireless work ethic shapes the strategic trajectory for the BartlettJames team in its engagements around the nation and the globe. Bruce is based in South Carolina.
Bruce is a retired federal Administrative Law Judge, having most recently completed service of 11 years with the Department of Homeland Security in 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has presided over innumerable hearings involving sensitive and highly-classified matters relating to national security, including several highly publicized trials involving ranking government officials, major air carriers, and licensed maritime officers. He is also a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and Judge Advocate, having served 21 years as a decorated aviator, military prosecutor, investigator, and Military Judge on active duty and in the reserves. Among his many military and civilian awards is the prestigious Award for Trial Advocacy presented by the New York City Bar Association.
In the course of his employment as a Judge Advocate and Administrative Law Judge, Bruce has conducted numerous highly classified investigations into sensitive matters of national security and interpersonal relationships both in the United States and abroad. His military duties included serving as a senior legal counsel on a variety of topics, including employee discipline, adherence to civil rights, and oversight of federal and state law enforcement conduct, including use of force cases.
Bruce is an Honor Graduate from the Washburn University School of Law and served on the board of editors of the Washburn Law Journal. He holds an LL.M. in International Law from the Judge Advocate General’s School, U.S. Army, located in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Why Choose BartlettJames for Title IX Services?.
The BartlettJames team is recognized for discretely serving colleges and universities through some of the largest scale allegations and high-profile cases. We are prepared to handle any level of Title IX challenge your institution is facing.
Impartial Approach.
The BartlettJames team serves as an unbiased, trusted third party to assist your institution in carrying out an equitable, compliant response to any Title IX complaint.
Experienced Team.
With a combination of substantial judicial and Title IX experience, we bring the insight, professional approach, and precision that institutions need in order to handle Title IX cases effectively.
Sensitive, Discrete, & Prompt.
Our team understands the university setting, collegiate responsibilities, and potential liabilities present through any allegation. We serve our client institutions with sensitivity, discretion, and expediency.
