Relationships Between Law Faculty & Law Students
No law faculty member may enter into a consensual romantic or sexual relationship with a student of the Wake Forest School of Law. Accommodations for pre-existing consensual romantic or sexual relationships (that is, a relationship formed before the law faculty member joined the School of Law and/or before the student matriculated into the School of Law) between a law faculty member and a School of Law student may be permissible and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. In such circumstances, the following disclosure process must be followed.
Any pre-existing consensual romantic or sexual relationship between a law faculty member and a School of Law student must be disclosed by the law faculty member through submission of a Workplace Relationship Disclosure Form to Human Resources. The disclosure must occur within 30 days of the start of the law faculty employment with the School of Law or within 30 days of the student’s matriculation. A Human Resources Partner or the Conflict of Interest Office will consult with the law school and Human Resources senior leadership to determine if any conflict exists, and if so, the appropriate action for minimizing or removing the conflict of interest risk.
Law students who believe that they have been negatively impacted by a consensual romantic or sexual relationship as described in this policy should contact one of the following:
Human Resources
(336) 758-4700
AskHR@wfu.edu
Audit & Compliance Services
(336) 716-5128
compliance@wfu.edu
Compliance Hotline
(887) 880-7888
Title IX Coordinator
titleixcoordinator@wfu.edu
Deputy Title IX Coordinator (School of Law)
Branden M. Nicholson
nicholsb@wfu.edu
No retaliation may be directed toward a School of Law student who reports a good faith concern about a School of Law relationship, as provided in the University’s Whistleblower/Non-Retaliation Policy.
Students who believe they have been sexually harassed by any employee of Wake Forest University, including School of Law faculty members, should consult the University’s Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy for review of the University's definition of sexual harassment (which includes sexual harassment, sexual intimidation, stalking or cyberstalking, dating violence, and domestic violence), and how the University protects its students from sexual harassment by all employees of Wake Forest University, including School of Law faculty members. That policy also sets forth procedures for filing a complaint with the University, both by individuals who believe that they have been sexually harassed and by individuals who become aware of or witness such harassment.