Paul G. Lannon

Paul G. Lannon Jr. is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Boston office and a member of the firm's Labor, Employment and Benefits Group. As co-chair of the Education Team, Mr. Lannon advises and represents educational institutions nationally as well as serves as the outside general counsel for several private colleges and secondary and elementary schools. He is also past chair of the Trade Secrets Team.

Mr. Lannon represents public and private companies in complex civil litigation, counsels businesses on crisis management, regulatory compliance and workplace issues, and advocates for management in employment disputes. His litigation experience includes successful trials, appeals, arbitrations and mediations, locally and nationally. He served as a special assistant district attorney and has twice argued First Amendment principles before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Mr. Lannon is also accomplished in representing educational institutions and energy services companies before state and federal agencies. In one of the first major federal cases after 9/11, he successfully argued to re-open the Port of Boston to supertanker traffic.

Outside courtrooms and hearings, Mr. Lannon's experience includes leading both independent and internal investigation teams reporting on matters of sexual assault and harassment, financial fraud, false claims, regulatory compliance, protection of minors and other forms of misconduct. 

Before his legal career, Mr. Lannon served as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. He clerked for the Honorable Joseph R. Nolan of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts from 1992 to 1993.

Educational Institutions

Mr. Lannon represents and counsels educational institutions on a broad range of matters, including crisis management, mergers and combinations, Title IX sex discrimination and sexual assault, protection of minors, tenure disputes, Clery Act and campus security, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other student privacy issues, student conduct, policies and handbooks, Title IV and federal financial aid compliance, governance, contracts, regulatory issues and preventative training. He acts as outside general counsel to several colleges and independent schools. Mr. Lannon also represents educational institutions before state and federal courts, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and state attorney general investigations, the U.S. Department of Education's (DOE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and other regulatory bodies.

Mr. Lannon, editor and co-author of MCLE New England's 2021 College and University Law Manual, is a formerly elected member of the board of directors for the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). He was formerly a board member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), co-chair of the Boston Bar Association College & University Law Section and editor of the Journal of College and University Law. Mr. Lannon has been honored in education law as one of the Best Lawyers in America, Boston's Best Lawyers, Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Who's Who.

Non-Competition, Trade Secrets and Defecting Employees

Mr. Lannon regularly defends companies from unfair competition, improper solicitation of customers and employees, and unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information across the country. He has served as national trial counsel on non-competition disputes for large healthcare and insurance companies. His non-compete work includes drafting multi-state agreements and developing company-wide asset protection policies.

Counseling Employers

Beyond unfair competition, Mr. Lannon advises employers on a broad range of employment matters, including asset protection, acquisitions and divestitures, human resource policies, wage and hour, reductions in force, executive contracts, leaves, severance, investigations, terminations, relocations and preventative training. He also regularly represents management in discrimination and other workplace disputes in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies.