General Counsel

• Represents Quinnipiac as its chief legal officer, serving as the legal representative of and a senior advisor to 
• the President, the Board of Trustees, executive officers, faculty, and senior staff. 
• Provides comprehensive legal counsel, representation, and oversight on the wide range of legal matters 
• affecting Quinnipiac University. 
• Provides advice to all University academic and staff leaders on legal and regulatory matters related 
• to Quinnipiac’s activities, transactional matters, compliance, dispute resolution, human resources, 
• labor relations, investigations, and policy formulation, and conducts all necessary and appropriate 
• related legal work. 
•  Representative areas of law routinely addressed include governance, labor and employment, civil 
• rights (including Title IX and FERPA), tax, real estate, land use and property law, investments, 

• contracts, financing and transactional work, complex gifts, research and cooperative agreements, 

• Protects Quinnipiac’s institutional integrity, extending to best practices, potential liability, and matters that 
• present substantial institutional or reputational risk, advising on issues that present risk of impairment of 
• Quinnipiac’s reputation, legal status as a tax-exempt organization, or financial condition. 
• Manages the operations and workload of the General Counsel office using advanced IT tools and systems. 
• Ensures compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and rules enforced by U.S. federal, state, and local 
• regulators and appropriate global regulators, developing good relationships with relevant regulators. 
•  Leads a service-oriented office of legal affairs, coordinating and managing provision of legal services across 
• Quinnipiac. 
•  Selects and supervises outside legal counsel, including in transactions, contracting, litigation, and regulatory 
• matters. The General Counsel and the President are the only officials authorized to engage or approve the 
• engagement of outside counsel on behalf of the university. 
• Serves as an ally in advancing Quinnipiac’s strategic plan, and innovative university ideas and practices, 
• while addressing any legal concerns. 
•  Oversees the status of the university as a tax-exempt organization. 

•  Minimum 10+ years relevant legal experience. 
• Experience as a trusted adviser to a CEO/President and governing board. 
• Expertise in, and exposure to, legal issues similar to those at Quinnipiac, with familiarity with higher 
• education, academic, research, and student life issues. 
•  Experience and expertise in employment law and labor relations. 
•  Outstanding written and oral communication skills. 
•  Effectiveness in working as a positive contributor to senior management teams and in developing 
• collegial relationships across complex organizations. 
•  An entrepreneurial mindset. 
• Experience managing a broad portfolio of legal issues, litigation, and legal risk assessment. 

• Knowledge of IT systems that improve the efficacy of the operations of a General Counsel office. 

• Demonstrated legal talent with the ability to focus on and counsel leadership on the major issues—current 
• or potential—facing a complex academic institution.
•  Expertise in and a track record of successfully managing complex employment and labor issues. 
•  Demonstrated sound judgment with a track record of serving as a key contributor to a fast paced, 
• entrepreneurial leadership team. 
•  Demonstrated ability to influence major decisions through reasoned analysis. 
•  Ability to engage and manage outside counsel. 
•  Ability to forecast and manage a legal budget cost effectively, including management of outside legal 
• counsel. 
• Versatility in addressing and advising on a broad portfolio of legal matters. 
• Strategic and Entrepreneurial Thinking 
•  A strategic thinker who can move fluidly between the big picture and details, who will bring pragmatism, a 
• sense of urgency, a bias toward action, and a passion for Quinnipiac’s mission and strategic plan. 

•  Understands the University’s agenda and can counsel University leaders on how to achieve the agenda 
• while best mitigating associated risk. 
•  Has a service mentality, implementing IT systems and operating practices to support University clients with 
• their legal questions and needs. 
•  Has the courage of his/her own convictions and is willing to articulate contrary but well-reasoned positions 
• in appropriate situations. 
•  Values inclusive excellence in staff and programs and has demonstrated behaviors that articulate that value. 
• Collaborative Leadership 
• Systematically builds partnerships with colleagues across the leadership team and all of Quinnipiac, invests 
• time to gain a clear understanding of the University’s programs and issues, and gains credibility with senior 
• leadership and board members by consistently delivering an outstanding work product and sage counsel in 
• a timely fashion. 
•  Is accessible and responsive, invites discussion and debate, delivers high quality work in a high paced 
• environment, possesses the self-confidence to set forth opinions even in the face of contrary views, the 
• capacity to listen carefully and reconsider, and the ability to view multiple aspects of challenging issues. 
•  Welcomes the importance of serving as a member of a strategic leadership team while inviting participative 
• engagement across the university. 
•  Models collegiality and collaboration.

•  Uncompromising integrity and the highest ethical and moral standards. 
•  Innovative, forward-thinking, and entrepreneurial. 
•  Interpersonally sensitive and a good listener. 
• A commitment to advancing diverse points of view and backgrounds. 
• Thoughtful decision-maker. 
•  Commitment to the strategic aspirations of Quinnipiac.