Title IX – On-Demand Training

How to Prepare an Investigative Report that is Equitable, Impartial, Thorough & Compliant

With increasing pressure on institutions to provide clearly written investigative reports reflective of a thorough investigation, drafting the investigative report has become more critical than ever. 

Title IX sexual misconduct cases remain exceedingly complex, and investigators are called upon to write fair and unbiased investigative reports. Ensure that the entirety of your report-writing process is equitable, impartial and thorough, as well as compliant.

Our legal expert will provide comprehensive guidance on writing investigative reports. You will review the new regulatory framework, including key terminology and definitions, jurisdiction/scope, requirements of a grievance process, and roles and responsibilities of key personnel. You’ll also gain specific strategies, understanding and awareness of the fundamentals of an investigation including: 

• Required notices
• Burden
• Evidence collection and sharing
• Issues of relevance
• Trauma-informed questioning
• Best practices for conducting an investigation impartially (i.e. avoiding prejudgment, conflicts of interest, and bias throughout the process). 

Topics Covered

You will take away critical, actionable tools that will help you:

• Understand best practices for preparing an investigative report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence — create a template to ensure consistency and standardization of all reports so you can improve timeliness and impartiality, both of which are critical to Title IX and Clery compliance.
• Analyze the impact of new regulations, including the definition of sexual harassment and the scope of an institution’s educational program or activity. 
• Review the fundamentals of an investigation and how those impact the investigative report — examine report writing as a step-by-step process running in parallel to the investigation to ensure accuracy and timeliness of drafts.
• Break down each element of each charge so you can adequately analyze the case including jurisdiction, standard of evidence and credibility — avoid common mistakes in report writing to ensure compliance throughout the entire investigative process.

Presenter

Marisa De Feo is an Associate with Saul Ewing Arnstein and Lehr. Marisa De Feo handles higher education and commercial litigation matters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey state and federal courts. Marisa has experience in complex commercial litigation and routinely provides higher education and K-12 entities with advice on issues involving compliance, policy, and liability, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and similar laws.
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