William E. Manning

Bill Manning represents Delaware’s leading universities and has served as chair of Saul Ewing’s Higher Education Practice — a multi-specialty team providing sophisticated legal services to the nation’s public and private universities. Having worked as legal counsel and then chief of staff to Governor Pete duPont, Bill is frequently called on to represent clients engaged in disputes with governmental agencies.

Bill and colleagues in Saul Ewing’s Higher Education Practice advise leading institutions of higher education on a host of matters, including compliance with recent legislation and Title IX Office of Civil Rights guidance regarding sexual misconduct on campus; FERPA and state FOIA compliance; Title IV compliance; contracts with private vendors and joint venture partners; real estate development; non-profit tax matters; and governance. Selected litigated matters include:

• Defense of a $200 million claim arising from the client university’s decision to terminate a ground lease for the development of a data processing center due to plaintiff’s lack of performance.
• District court jury trial defense of various claims arising from award to university-led consortium for research designed to improve the use of orthotics and prostheses for wounded soldiers.
• Defense of publicly supported university against First Amendment associational claims brought by fraternity.
• Defense of tenure denial case brought by faculty member diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

While Bill has developed a multi-pronged practice over his long legal career, he now primarily represents businesses entities in contract and business tort disputes. He is also well equipped to serve as a neutral arbitrator and mediator from his early career role as a law clerk to federal district court Judge Caleb R. Layton, III, as well as insight gained from representing parties in mediations and trying cases in arbitration though his litigation practice.

Outside the practice of law, Bill spends time on his life-long passion: public education reform, having helped launch several charter schools and currently serving on the board of a non-profit organization that has converted a downtown office building into a host for several charter schools in Wilmington. In addition, he served on the board of Ally Bank, one of the nation’s leading online banks.