Josh Whitlock is the Founder and Managing Partner of Whitlock Law, PLLC and focuses his practice on meeting the legal needs of higher education institutions.
A former Partner at two AmLaw 100 firms and leader of those firms’ education industry teams, Josh has worked for nearly two decades with institutions of all types–from community colleges, to small private schools, to large public research universities–to find thoughtful and effective answers to the unique issues that they face.
He has extensive experience defending colleges and universities in a broad range of litigation and investigations, as well as counseling them on a variety of issues, including Title IX, FERPA, Clery, and disability-related compliance; the handling of sexual misconduct allegations; and student discipline and faculty tenure matters.
Josh frequently interacts with the U.S. Department of Education, having successfully represented schools in dozens of federal investigations and participated in multiple, invitation-only, small group listening sessions with Department leadership on topics such as Title IX regulatory reform and the rights of transgender students. He also is a national thought leader on Title IX- and disability-related claims and compliance and frequently speaks and publishes on those matters. Additionally, he has conducted hundreds of Title IX trainings for a broad range of institutions and has helped dozens of schools design and enhance their annual Title IX team training programs.
The former chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Education Law Section and an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, Josh also was part of a team of attorneys that taught the Higher Education Practicum at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Additionally, he served on the board of directors for Girls on the Run International and the Mindfulness in Law Society, is a graduate of Leadership Charlotte, and is heavily involved in a variety of pro bono work and volunteer efforts.
Outside of his legal practice, Josh is a poet and entrepreneur. His first poetry collection will be published in 2025 in both English and Spanish, and he is a partner in a chocolate company in Panama, where he lives part-time and where he also is involved in a range of exciting real estate, film, and literary projects.
