Partner
and access,
Tony Guida focuses his practice on the PreK-12, postsecondary, EdTech and corporate training education sectors handling issues relating to federal and state education law, licensing and accreditation, mergers, acquisitions and other substantive changes; institutional governance; government response and crisis management, federal and state education policy; and government affairs. An experienced senior executive in the field of higher education, Mr. Guida brings a unique business side perspective to his engagement with clients. He serves as a team lead for the Duane Morris Education industry group and previously served as a member of the firm's governing Partners Board. The Legal 500 US 2024 Guide, which has ranked Duane Morris’ Education Industry Group, notes that Mr. Guida “consistently provides solid guidance and perspective” according to his clients and they “have complete trust in his counsel. He’s invaluable for keeping [clients] abreast of developments in higher education.” Mr. Guida was also ranked in Chambers USA for Higher Education – Nationwide for 2024, the first year Chambers issued rankings for Higher Education in the U.S. Mr. Guida has previously served in senior executive positions with two major publicly-traded companies that owned and operated colleges and universities on multiple platforms, where his responsibilities included regulatory affairs and compliance, acquisitions and divestitures, government and public affairs, policy, strategic planning, new campus development, and public relations. He has also served as CFO and general counsel for a small proprietary college. Prior to joining the higher education industry more than 20 years ago, Mr. Guida was a partner in the litigation section of a large regional law firm. Mr. Guida is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). He previously served on the Board of Trustees of a private non-profit university and chaired its Academic Affairs Committee. He also previously served on the Board of Directors of a national trade association representing proprietary institutions, chairing its federal legislative committee, and served on the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, created by Congress to serve as an independent source of advice and counsel to Congress and the Secretary of Education on student financial aid policy. Mr. Guida has been published and quoted in publications such as Fox News, University Business, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed on education law and policy issues. He is a frequent speaker at symposia and conferences on issues relating to regulatory compliance, government enforcement actions, higher education mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions and substantive changes, licensing and accreditation, and federal and state higher education policy. Mr. Guida is a 1986 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he was Student Articles Editor of the Law Review, and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Dayton.
