Robert E. Bienstock, Associate General Counsel, Yale University. He practices in research and technology law, and occupational health and safety law, handling transactions and compliance. His portfolio includes research transactions such as grants, contracts, material transfer agreements, equipment acquisitions, technology and software licenses, and software agreements. He also handles compliance legal issues, including biosafety and biosecurity, human and animal subjects research, radiation safety, conflicts of interest, and hazardous waste. Robert sits on the following Yale committees: Radiation Safety Committee, Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee, Biological Safety Committee, Conflicts of Interest/Conflicts of Commitment Committee, University Safety Committee, Lab Animals Task Force, as well as human and animal subjects review committees. Before coming to Yale, he served as Deputy University Counsel at the University of New Mexico, heading its research and technology practice group. Robert’s license to practice in Connecticut is pending, and he is licensed in California and New Mexico. Robert has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, and has presented on research and technology law topics nationally and internationally. He received his J.D. from Boalt Hall in 1985 and his B.S. with highest honors in physics from SUNY at Stony Brook in 1978.

A.L. (Lorry) Spitzer, Partner, Ropes & Gray, LLP, Boston, MA. As a partner in Ropes & Gray's Tax & Benefits Department, Lorry concentrates his practice on representing colleges and universities, health care organizations and other types of tax-exempt organizations. Lorry is a frequent speaker about unrelated business taxable income, compensation-setting procedures, "commercial" activities of non-profits, and endowment investment issues. Lorry joined Ropes & Gray in 1981. From 1986-1988, he worked for the Office of Tax Policy of the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C., first as an attorney advisor and then as Special Assistant to the Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy. While at the Treasury Department, he dealt primarily with issues involving tax-exempt organizations and partnership taxation.

Peter Serreze, Ropes & Gray, LLP, Boston, MA. An associate in the Tax & Benefits Department, Pete joined Ropes & Gray in 2000. His practice concentrates on providing tax advice on public finance transactions for governmental issuers and conduit borrowers. A particular focus of Pete's is assisting universities, hospitals and other nonprofit borrowers in developing programs to maintain the compliance of their bond issues with applicable federal tax requirements after the bonds have been issued. He led a group of Ropes & Gray colleagues in writing Post-Issuance Compliance: A Guide to Practical Strategies and Procedures for 501(c)(3) Borrowers, a detailed, plain-English guide and set of procedures and tools to assist borrowers in this regard. Pete also handles public finance matters before the IRS, including audits, ruling requests and closing agreements.