In Corporate Counsel, Steve Sencer Examines Competing Challenges Facing Higher Education General Counsel

General counsel at higher education institutions are facing an increasingly complex web of legal, financial and social challenges.

In a Corporate Counsel and Law.com article, health care counsel Steve Sencer, who previously served as general counsel at Emory University, explained the challenges that general counsels face in resolving tensions within universities.

Steve notes that large research universities, operate in several highly regulated industries: education, scientific research, and often health care systems. These are not always consistently regulated, and the regulations can sometimes be in tension with each other.

“Universities are nonprofit organizations with multiple stakeholder groups—students, alumni, faculty, donors, and government officials—all with legitimate claims on the mission. These interests are often in conflict, and an important job of a lawyer is to resolve those tensions,” said Steve.