Sweet Briar Settlement Reached
Richmond partners Ashley Taylor and Bill Hurd, and Troutman Sanders were mentioned in numerous publications – The Chronicle of Higher Education, New ERA Progress, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Roanoke Times (and here), Virginia Lawyers Weekly, and WTVR, CBS-6 – for their ongoing involvement as counsel for Saving Sweet Briar, Inc. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring revealed late June 20 that a plan had been agreed upon by officials; an attorney for Amherst County, where the college is located; and Saving Sweet Briar, Inc. that would keep Sweet Briar College open. Some of the key terms in the plan are: Saving Sweet Briar would commit to deliver $12 million in donations for the ongoing operation of the college for the 2015-2016 year; the attorney general would consent to the release of restrictions on $16 million from the college’s endowment for the ongoing operation of the college; upon court approval, at least 13 members of the board of directors of the college would resign and at least 18 new members would be elected to the college’s board of directors; the current college president will resign; Phillip Stone will serve as the college’s new president; litigation will be dismissed involving the college; and other provisions. A circuit court judge approved the settlement deal on June 22.
Ashley also was quoted in a New York Times article about the deal. In an area of the piece that discussed what many of the students who did not graduate from Sweet Briar in May 2015 might do for the next school year, Ashley stated, “We are confident that students will return and that there will be a sufficient number of students for the 2015-2016 academic year [for the school to operate].”