Allen Harris is thrilled to announce that Robert L. Shibley, Esq., has joined our firm.
Prior to joining Allen Harris, Robert was the Executive Director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), where he advocated for the free speech and due process rights of students and faculty members at colleges and universities around the country. Over his 19 years at FIRE, Robert became one of the nation’s most visible advocates for free speech and due process on campus. He not only worked with hundreds of individual students and faculty members, but he also played a crucial part in advocating for legislation and policy changes that protect student and faculty rights, including the 2020 federal Title IX regulatory reforms as well as the first-ever state law guaranteeing public college students the right to an advisor in college disciplinary hearings. Robert is a graduate of Duke University and Duke University School of Law, and continues to serve as a FIRE Senior Fellow.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Robert to Allen Harris,” said Samantha Harris, co-founder of the firm and also a former FIRE attorney. “Throughout his career, Robert has demonstrated that he has not only an incredibly sharp legal mind, but also tremendous compassion, humility, and integrity – characteristics that are essential to the work we do.”
Allen Harris is growing in response to the increasing threats to student and faculty free speech and due process rights. Around the country, students and faculty are routinely investigated and even punished for expressing opinions on matters of public concern. They are also routinely subjected to disciplinary proceedings in which they are afforded little to no due process. This trend shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, as we speak, the Department of Education is taking steps to undo some of the procedural protections afforded to students in sexual misconduct proceedings by the 2020 Title IX regulations.
“In my 19 years at FIRE, I had a front-row seat to hundreds of cases in which universities showed contempt for their promises of free speech and fair treatment. I’m proud of the crucial work FIRE does and continues to do and am excited to take that experience with me as I re-focus on advocacy work for individual clients at Allen Harris. With today’s cancel culture and spiraling ideological purity tests, the unfortunate truth is that many students and faculty members need legal representation by a skilled attorney in this area.”
Michael Thad Allen remarked of the new addition, “Allen Harris is lucky to have Robert Shibley. He’s a recognized expert nationwide in the field of student and faculty rights. His public commentary has long been sought after in this area. By joining us, Robert will put that knowledge and his skills to work protecting our clients.”
For more about Shibley, Allen Harris, and our work, please visit www.allenharrislaw.com or contact us at info@allenharrislaw.com.
