Mary Rohmiller

Mary Rohmiller is a Partner in the firm’s Education practice group. She has over two decades of experience at the intersection of civil rights, education law and policy, and constitutional law. Her practice focuses on providing expert legal advice, counsel, analysis, and policy development to educational institutions and social impact organizations. She also serves her clients by offering training, compliance reviews, risk counseling, and advice on implementing best practices to proactively minimize liability exposure.

With extensive government experience and deep subject matter expertise, Mary offers unique insight into the complex and evolving legal challenges facing her clients. She understands how to navigate the current enforcement environment while supporting her clients’ values. She has an in-depth knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations impacting education, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Higher Education Act, as well as schools’ obligations with respect to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, parental rights, privacy rights, and the First Amendment.

Before joining PLG, she served in several high-impact legal roles within the U.S. Department of Education, where she played a central role in developing federal Title IX policy and regulations. Her work has consistently focused on ensuring equity in education for historically marginalized communities, and she has advised on complex litigation strategies and regulatory compliance across Title IX, Title VI, and Section 504.

Earlier in her career, Mary was a key voice in LGBTQIA+ family advocacy as Co-Director of State Policy at Family Equality, where she led policy campaigns and drafted model legislation and administrative policies. She also brings judicial insight from her time as a staff attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and as a judicial clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Representative Experience

• Advised school districts and state education agencies regarding compliance with Title IX, Title VI, and Section 504.
• Conducted in-depth legal and policy analysis on cutting edge education civil rights matters and briefed Department of Education leadership on litigation risk associated with desired policy outcomes.
• Partnered with the Department of Justice to represent the Department of Education in federal court litigation concerning education civil rights matters, including drafting and/or reviewing pleadings and responses, briefs, motions, and memoranda, and developing litigation strategy.
• Developed and assisted in drafting amicus briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal in landmark LGBTQIA+ cases, including Bostock and Fulton, and in several education-related cases.
• Authored public comments and drafted testimony regarding civil rights and education issues for federal and state legislative and rulemaking proceedings.