Colleges Turn to Law Firms to Sort Out Campus Crime Reporting (Corrected)

When Jeanne Clery’s parents learned that her 1986 dorm-room rape and murder by a fellow student was one in a string of recent violent crimes at Lehigh University, they fought for a law to force public disclosure of crimes on or near campuses.

What ensued was the federal Clery Act, which requires public and private colleges and universities participating in financial aid programs to comply with rules on reporting campus crime or risk steep fines.

Many of the 6,000 schools required to report annually rely on their legal departments. But many others in an era of expanded reporting demands of ...