AM24: I Didn’t Order the Alphabet Soup: A Legal Primer for College and University CBOs

Recorded On: 07/23/2024

Cultivating a healthy partnership between counsel and the CBO is now a must considering the complex simmering federal, state, and local legal issues that impact colleges and universities. On the menu for this session, attendees will learn from a panel of well-seasoned postsecondary attorneys about the legal issues most likely to reach a boiling point over the next 12 to 18 months—and how to work with counsel to successfully navigate the “secret menu” of hot topics including the new FLSA overtime rule, navigating DEIB, NIL issues, and AI before it all spells disaster.

Learning Objectives

Identify the top legal issues facing colleges and universities with an emphasis on how these changes can impact the business operations
Discuss the impacts of AI, as well as the ongoing effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions on campus DEI-B efforts
Explain how business officers and legal counsel can best collaborate to support success across the institution

CPE Available: 1.5 Credits in Business Law

Each individual must register and attend separately to earn credit.

NACUBO is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website www.nasbaregistry.org

Event Information

Level: Intermediate
Prerequisites: Minimum 1-2 years of experience as a professional in higher education or a related private industry.
Advanced Preparation: None
Delivery Mode: Group internet based
Field of Study: Business Law
Length: 75 minutes

Steps to Earn CPE Credit

You can only earn credit for attending the session live. CPE credit cannot be earned for watching the recordings.

To earn CPE credit, you will complete the following tasks under the Content tab, after the session has ended:

Pass the CPE codeword quiz. Write down the codewords posted in the Zoom chat at random times throughout the session and complete the quiz at the end of the session.
Submit the CPE check-out code displayed at the end of the session.
Download your CPE certificate.

You have until 5 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 24, to complete these three steps or report technology issues with this site to online@nacubo.org.

For more detailed instructions, review the CPE Instructions page.

Tamara Britt

Vice President and General Counsel

Teachers College, Columbia University

Tamara J. Britt is vice president and general counsel at Teachers College, Columbia University (TC). Britt is the chief legal officer of TC and is a key member of the President’s Cabinet, contributing to the resolution of many of the most important issues that affect TC. She also provides counsel to the Board of Trustees on legal and governance issues. Britt and the Office of the General Counsel provide day-to-day legal counsel on issues, policies, technology, transactions, claims, litigations, proceedings, and risks that concern TC.

Britt served as the inaugural VP, GC, and Chief of Staff at Manhattan College (MC). Prior to that, she was associate general counsel at Rutgers University and counsel to the RU Foundation. Britt was also a practicing attorney with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP where she had responsibility for a broad range of matters, including work with multinational corporations on regulatory, governance, compliance, bankruptcy, and white-collar defense issues.

Britt received her BA from Hampton University, an MPA from George Washington University, and a JD from Rutgers University, where she was an editor of the Rutgers Law Review and an Eagleton Institute of Politics Fellow.

Patricia Petrowski

Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel

University of Michigan

Patty Petrowski currently serves as associate vice president and deputy general counsel in the office of the vice president and general counsel at the University of Michigan. In that role, Petrowski oversees 15 attorneys and five paralegals and provides legal support to the university on a broad range of issues including Title IX, the Clery Act, children on campus, and conflicts of interest. Prior to joining the office of the vice president and general counsel, Petrowski was a partner with a large Chicago law firm, where she worked from 2000-2014. As a partner in the firm's complex litigation group, she litigated, arbitrated, and tried cases involving a variety of subject matters, with significant experience representing major research universities and academic medical centers.

Petrowski received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She received a bachelor's degree with high honors in political economy from Michigan State University and was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Jacquie Rich Fredericks

Senior Managing Legal Resources Attorney

National Association of College and University Attorneys

Jacquie Nichole Rich Fredericks, J.D., Ed.D., joined NACUA in 2023. As the senior legal resources attorney for publications, Jacquie manages NACUA’s robust publications portfolio, serves as the staff liaison for the NACUANOTES Editorial Board, develops and presents briefings and continuing legal education webinars on significant and timely changes in the postsecondary policy and legal landscape, and supervises NACUA’s Legal Resources Research Attorney. Jacquie is also primarily responsible for managing the development and implementation of the bi-annual NACUA General Counsel Institute. Prior to joining NACUA, Jacquie served as the vice president, general counsel, and secretary to the Board of Trustees of the University of Northern Colorado.

Jacquie holds a B.A. in elementary education from Ball State University, a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis, and an Ed.D. from the University of Denver. She is admitted to the bar in the State of Colorado.