A Title IX case is one of the few legal proceedings where both parties walk in without a map. There is no judge, no rules of evidence, and no guarantee that the person deciding your future has ever run a hearing before. The school controls the process, the timeline, and the outcome. And the stakes — your education, your career, your reputation, your safety — are as high as anything you’ll face in a courtroom.
That is why choosing the right advocate matters so much, and why Brown Education Law Group represents students, faculty, and staff on both sides of Title IX matters at colleges, universities, and K-12 schools across Colorado.
A quick refresher: what Title IX actually requires
Title IX is the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education, and it is the framework schools use to investigate and resolve allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking. Since a federal court vacated the 2024 rewrite in January 2025, schools nationwide are operating under the 2020 regulations. For our clients, that means:
In higher education, a formal complaint triggers a written notice, an investigation, an investigative report both parties may respond to, and a live hearing where each party’s advisor — not the party — cross-examines the other side and its witnesses. Both parties may appeal.
In K-12 schools, live hearings are not required and the process is often less formal, but the school must still respond to complaints, provide supportive measures, and follow written grievance procedures that protect both students.
The rules change, and they will change again. What does not change is that the people who fare best in these proceedings are the ones who understand how they really work — not just on paper, but in the interview room and at the hearing table.
We built our practice defending the accused. That is exactly why complainants should hire us.
Brown Education Law Group is known across Colorado as a Title IX defense firm. Our founding attorney, Lindsay N. Brown, spent her first decade as a trial lawyer — first with the Colorado State Public Defender, then as a partner at two prominent Denver law firms, where she led the education and juvenile law department. She has tried more than 50 cases to verdict and has defended students and faculty in Title IX proceedings at nearly every public and private university in Colorado and at schools across the Denver metro area.
If you are a respondent, that background is precisely what you need. If you are a complainant, it is a bigger advantage than you might expect.
Here is why. A complainant’s case is rarely lost on the facts. It is lost on preparation — on an inconsistency in a written statement that the other side’s advisor has been waiting to exploit, on a text message the complainant never mentioned because it seemed irrelevant, on a hearing that spirals into an unfair cross-examination because no one was there to object. We know exactly how respondents’ advisors build those attacks, because we have built them ourselves. We know which questions are coming, which evidence gets challenged, and where the process gives a well-prepared party leverage.
An advocate who has only ever sat on one side of the table is guessing at what the other side will do. We are not guessing. That is what makes us zealous advocates for victims: we know what to expect, and we prepare our clients for it before it happens.
What representation looks like for a complainant
Coming forward is hard enough. Navigating a grievance process designed by a school’s risk-management office should not be your second job. When we represent a complainant, we:
Get involved before the complaint is filed, when possible. How a report is framed, what supportive measures are requested, and whether to pursue a formal complaint at all are strategic decisions with lasting consequences. We help you make them with full information.
Prepare you for every interview and statement. Investigators are not your advocates, and neither are Title IX coordinators. We make sure your account is complete, consistent, and supported by the evidence before it is locked into an investigative report.
Insist on supportive measures and enforce them. No-contact orders, class and housing changes, academic accommodations, and safety planning are your right under the regulations — not favors from the school. We make sure they are provided and that violations are addressed.
Serve as your advisor at the hearing. We conduct cross-examination of the respondent and witnesses, object to improper or irrelevant questioning, and present your case with the same rigor we would bring to a criminal trial.
Handle the appeal, in either direction. Whether you are appealing an unfavorable finding or defending a favorable one, we know the grounds that succeed.
What representation looks like for a respondent
An accusation can end a college career, a graduate program, or a faculty appointment before a single finding is made. When we represent a respondent, we:
Step in the moment the school makes contact. Schools often reach out before disclosing the details of an allegation. What you say in that first conversation matters. Call us before you respond.
Demand the due process the regulations guarantee. Written notice with sufficient detail, equal access to evidence, a presumption of non-responsibility, an impartial decision-maker, and a live hearing with cross-examination in the higher-education setting. When schools cut corners — and they do — we hold them to the rules.
Investigate independently. We do not rely on the school’s investigator to find the evidence that helps you. We gather witness statements, electronic records, and timeline evidence ourselves, and we leave no stone unturned.
Manage the parallel risks. Many Title IX allegations carry criminal exposure, and Ms. Brown maintains an active criminal defense practice in state and federal court. We coordinate the Title IX strategy with any criminal or civil issues so that nothing said in one proceeding harms you in another.
Try the hearing and handle the appeal. Cross-examination at a Title IX hearing is the moment the case is won or lost, and it demands a lawyer with real trial experience.
Why clients on both sides choose Brown Education Law Group
We are education lawyers first. Title IX, school discipline, expulsion hearings, and special education advocacy are what we do every day, from kindergarten through graduate school. We are not a general practice that occasionally takes a campus case.
We are trial lawyers. Title IX hearings are adversarial proceedings that reward advocates who know how to examine a witness, handle evidence, and think on their feet. Ms. Brown’s background is in the courtroom, and it shows.
We know Colorado’s schools. We have appeared before Title IX offices at institutions throughout the state and understand how each one actually runs its process — who the decision-makers are, what they expect, and where the pressure points lie.
We give every case concierge-level attention. We are a boutique firm by design. You work directly with your attorney, you get clear explanations of a confusing process, and you always know what is coming next.
We have been recognized by our peers. Ms. Brown has been selected to Colorado Super Lawyers, was previously named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for six consecutive years, and has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers and the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys.
Talk to us before the process talks to you
Whether you are considering filing a complaint or you have just received a notice of investigation, the earliest decisions in a Title IX matter are often the most consequential. Brown Education Law Group offers a free, confidential consultation to students, parents, faculty, and staff throughout Colorado.
Call (303) 817-6056 or contact us online. Your future is our focus.
