Nathan A. Adams IV

Dr. Adams is a member of the Private Equity Team. His practice includes:

• Counseling private equity and hedge funds on Florida law and rule changes as related to investment by persons associated with foreign countries of concern, the Live Local Act, public ethics and lobbying requirements, real estate law, education law, and public records and Sunshine Law
• Representing financial institutions seeking registration or subject to adverse findings by the Florida Department of Financial Services and Office of Financial Regulation, including in administrative proceedings before the Division of Administrative Hearings
• Assisting with qualification for Florida economic incentive programs offered by the Florida Department of Commerce
• Lobbying state agencies about rulemaking and rule interpretation
• Drafting legislation affecting the financial community
• Counseling transactional parties, underwriters and insurers on the regulated education and healthcare industries
• Defending insurance and indemnity coverage disputes and commercial litigation such as fiduciary duty, fraud and coverage claims and reinsurance disputes
• Defending trade secrets and restrictive covenants in litigation and arbitration

Dr. Adams is a member of Holland & Knight's Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Sector Group. His practice includes:

• Representing hospitals and defending healthcare institutions such as medical device manufacturers and distributors against antitrust, Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (DUTPA), Lanham Act, breach of contract and non-competition claims
• Defending adverse licensure and accreditation decisions against healthcare, pharmaceutical and drug companies
• Defending healthcare institutions against constitutional claims, taxation assessments and Medicaid overpayments
• Assisting with due diligence pertaining to refinancing, mergers and acquisitions of healthcare institutions
• Counsel regarding arbitration in the long-term care industry

Dr. Adams is a member of Holland & Knight's Education Team. He is the chair of The Florida Bar Education Law Committee and one of only 46 Florida Bar Board Certified Education Lawyers. Dr. Adams previously served as counsel for the Florida Board of Governors and Division of Florida Colleges. He represents colleges and universities, online course providers, public school districts, private K-12 schools, charter school systems, school funding organizations, accreditors, education publishers and other education vendors. His practice includes:

• Structuring, licensing and accrediting post-secondary institutions and support organizations such as research, development and advancement foundations, as well as defending adverse licensure and accreditation actions
• Advising educational institutions and direct support organizations on compliance with Titles IV, VI, VII and IX, sovereign immunity and education equity laws, and conducting related investigations and litigation
• Assisting post-secondary institutions with federal National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. Department of Education contracts and grant compliance
• Advising on cyber breach prevention, reporting, litigation and crisis management
• Representing colleges and universities in front of accrediting agencies in defense of their accreditation status
• Assisting accrediting organizations with federal and state legal compliance and approval
• Consulting and litigating with respect to sovereign immunity, online education, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) compliance, school choice, charter school, public records and ethics, educational agreements, records management and Florida Sunshine Law cases
• Litigating and appealing First Amendment, student, educational governance and employment lawsuits
• Assisting with mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, affiliations, closures and spinouts of educational institutions
• Drafting legislation and rules affecting the regulation of educational institutions
• Representing educational institutions before the State Board of Education, Florida Department of Education, Florida Commission for Independent Education and U.S. Department of Education

Dr. Adams is a co-leader of the Holland & Knight Food and Beverage Litigation Team and Restaurant Industry Team, and serves as editor of the Firm's Bar Bites: A Food & Beverage Law Blog. Additionally, he has served as outside national labor and employment counsel for a hospitality brand. His practice includes:

• Defending and consulting concerning deceptive labeling and deceptive practices claims
• Defending restaurants and hotels concerning Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other employment discrimination, retaliation and class action litigation
• Assisting restaurants in real estate, contract and regulatory disputes
• Defending publicly traded hospitality companies in securities class action litigation
• Defending Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) pattern and practice directed investigations
• Challenging municipal and state sales, resort and other tax assessments
• Assisting publicly traded companies with reductions in force and executive transitions

Dr. Adams leads Holland & Knight's Religious Institutions Team, is a member of its Tax-Exempt Organizations and Philanthropy Team and edits its Religious Institutions Law Update. He is a Church Law & Tax editorial advisor. His practice includes:

• Defending and appealing First Amendment, Equal Protection, ministerial exception, church autonomy, land use and zoning, employment, Blaine amendment, defamation, privacy, and property and taxation disputes
• Structuring mergers, acquisitions and sales of domestic and international ministries and faith-based public contracts and grants
• Bringing and defending probate litigation, including cy pres and deviation lawsuits, in connection with donations to nonprofit institutions
• Assisting organizations with tax-exempt structuring, applications, reclassifications and support organizations
• Counseling on avoiding private inurement and excess benefit transactions
• Assisting with legal audits and policies pertaining to public accommodations, codes of conduct, alternative dispute resolution, volunteers, safety and counseling
• Assisting with governance and board issues, including church property disputes and modifications to bylaws and articles of incorporation
• Representing ministries in internal investigations, litigation, appeals and religious conciliation proceedings

• Assisting companies subject to investigation by the Office of the Attorney General and state and local executive agencies
• Bringing, defending and consulting on state and local procurement administrative proceedings
• Drafting legislation, rules and ordinances
• Lobbying state agencies regarding rulemaking and interpretation
• Appearing before Florida licensing agencies
• Counseling regarding state and local public ethics and lobbying requirements and public records and Florida Sunshine Law
• Representing state constitutional officers such as clerks of court, supervisors of election and tax collectors
• Evaluating the constitutionality of proposed legislation and existing law under the state and federal constitutions