General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs

One of the nation's leading public polytechnic universities, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) seeks a visionary, inclusive, and strategic leader as its next General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs (hereafter General Counsel). Reporting directly to President, Teik C. Lim, Ph.D., the General Counsel serves as Secretary to the Board of Trustees.

The General Counsel oversees and manages the university's legal affairs, providing counsel on a wide range of legal, regulatory, policy, governance and risk management issues that may arise. The General Counsel is expected to continue to develop and lead a high performing legal team, ensuring their accountability while also effectively mentoring this group and supporting a positive, open and responsive team environment. Simultaneously, the General Counsel will serve as a thought leader and advance initiatives in workload distribution, legal processes and case management serving the legal needs of a responsive and agile organization. The General Counsel will be an actively engaged leader with mature interpersonal skills who adds broad legal experience in higher education to the team and remains active in the practice of law. It is important that the General Counsel be a credible and visible University-wide leader who exhibits high integrity and the skills of listening effectively and partnering collaboratively. This is an outstanding opportunity to establish and manage a legal team committed to the success of a robust and diverse learning community at an exceptional institution.

The ideal candidate should possess excellent verbal and written communication and management skills, the fiscal and human resources management skills necessary to lead NJIT's General Counsel's Office, and an established record of advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion. The successful candidate is expected to make themselves familiar with NJIT policies and procedures and demonstrate a commitment to the public mission and core values of the university, with the capability and breadth to contribute beyond the core legal function. Candidates must have a Juris Doctorate from an ABA-accredited law school, membership in the New Jersey State Bar, or eligibility for admission based on reciprocity is required (if reciprocity is not available, out of state candidates will be expected to become full New Jersey State Bar members within one year of employment). They must also have at least ten years of relevant legal experience, knowledge of the state labor laws and regulations, and a focus on higher education. The ideal candidate should also possess a minimum of seven years of supervisory experience leading and directing a legal team.

A detailed leadership profile is available at https://wittkieffer.com/positions/25665.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile and a CV or resume. WittKieffer is assisting NJIT in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by May 13, 2024. Application materials should be submitted using https://apptrkr.com/5166910.

Nominatons and inquiries can be directed to:

Werner Boel, LL.M. or Luis Bertot at NJITGeneralCounsel@wittkieffer.com

As an EEO employer, NJIT is committed to building a diverse and inclusive teaching, research, and working environment and strongly encourages applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities, veterans, and women.

Diversity Statement

As a Minority Serving Institution and Asian-American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution, diversity is a core value of NJIT and we are committed to making diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, part of everything we do. We celebrate the diversity of our university community and recognize the cultural and personal differences each member of the community brings to NJIT. We strive to cultivate an inclusive campus culture that promotes excellence among our faculty, staff, and students. Building a robust and diverse community is critical to NJIT’s continuing status as a premier institution of higher education and a leading polytechnic university.