A groundbreaking new book by Lou Guard ’12, adjunct professor at Cornell Law School, and Joyce Jacobsen, former president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, grapples with the unprecedented legal challenges that have reshaped university governance and administrative strategies in recent years. On April 15, members of the Cornell Law community gathered in the MacDonald Moot Court Room for a thought-provoking discussion that marked the release of All the Campus Lawyers: Litigation, Regulation, and the New Era of Higher Education.
Lou Guard (at podium) with panelists (L to R) David Wippman, Risa Lieberwitz, and Barbara A. Lee
Moderated by Kristen Underhill, associate dean for faculty research at the Law School, the event featured a distinguished panel that included David Wippman, president of Hamilton College; Barbara A. Lee, editor of the Journal of College and University Law and distinguished professor at Rutgers University; and Risa Lieberwitz, professor of labor and employment law at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. The ensuing discussion among the panelists underscored the critical role of legal counsel in steering educational institutions through an era of heightened regulatory and litigation pressures.
Lou Guard, vice president and general counsel of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, discussed the motivations behind his book, emphasizing the growing prominence of legal issues in higher education is related to the law or to some explicit or underlying legal issue in some way,” said Guard. “We argue that in the past ten to fifteen years this has grown in intensity.”
He aims to foster a broader dialogue among stakeholders to better anticipate and manage these challenges. “If there’s one thing that I want to do in the book, it’s to open up a discourse and to broaden this,” he said.
Barbara A. Lee explored the evolving role of university legal counsel, stressing the importance of legal strategies that support higher education’s core values. “This book is an honest assessment and description of the role of general counsel [in higher education] and it could not have come at a better time,” said Lee.
Risa Lieberwitz highlighted the challenge of balancing proactive legal strategies with preserving educational missions. “This contradiction between the prevention of problems and addressing risks ahead of time and not interfering with or undermining the mission, there’s the rub,” she noted.
David Wippman added an administrative perspective, discussing the increasing legal entanglements in university operations. “The lawyerization that the book talks about . . . is real,” he remarked, noting how legal frameworks now guide many institutional decisions.
