Address
Form of workLoyola Marymount University
LMU's main campus is located just minutes from Los Angeles International Airport in L.A.'s tech corridor known as Silicon Beach, where innovation and media thrive and world-changing ideas are imagined, formed, and disseminated. The campus sits on a bluff overlooking the Pacific coast and is regularly named one of the top 10 most beautiful campuses in the United States. LMU Loyola Law School's campus, designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, is in the heart of the thriving downtown legal community. In 2018, LMU opened its third Los Angeles campus in Playa Vista, affording it the ability to grow its industry partnerships through immersive and interdisciplinary learning opportunities, career pathways for students, and community engaged learning and service projects.
LMU has been recognized internationally as among the nation's best for its programs, curricula, and student life. LMU ranks No. 93 among national universities on US News & World Report's 2023-24 Best Colleges list, and the Wall Street Journal ranked LMU among the top 15 percent of all U.S. colleges and universities in their World University Rankings in 2022. For information on LMU's rankings, visit lmu.edu/factsfiguresrankings. LMU, an R2 institution in the Carnegie classifications, has a highly esteemed faculty who are globally recognized scholars, including Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, Fulbright scholars, and many other accomplished academic leaders.
LMU delivers an exceptional learning experience to its roughly 10,000 students and enrolls an academically ambitious, multicultural, and socioeconomically diverse student body. It recruits competitive students from an increasingly talented, diverse, and global applicant pool from every state and nearly 100 countries. The University's cocurricular programs include 20 Division I and varsity sports, 20 housing facilities, 222 registered student organizations, 31 fraternities, sororities, and service organizations, and nationally acclaimed, student-run media programs in radio, television, yearbook, and newspaper. LMU students are committed to working for and with others; they provide over 250,000 annual community and pro bono service hours to nearly 250 community organizations.
LMU provides more than 5,400 jobs concentrated in California.
Loyola Marymount University's Mission
LMU offers rigorous undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs and by intention and philosophy, the University invites ambitious individuals diverse in talents, interests, and cultural backgrounds to enrich its educational community and advance its threefold mission:
• The encouragement of learning
• The education of the whole person
• The service of faith and the promotion of justice
The University takes its fundamental inspiration from the combined heritage of the Society of Jesus, The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, a composite religious heritage that distinguishes LMU among Catholic universities. Informed by Roman Catholicism's robust social teaching and commitment to justice, LMU enrolls, employs, and celebrates the contributions of persons of all faiths to its distinctive mission. Please visit Mission and Ministry at: https://mission.lmu.edu/ to view the full mission statement and our complement of faith-based programs.
Loyola Marymount University's Strategic Plan
"Creating the World We Want to Live In" is LMU's strategic plan for the 2021-26 period. This plan articulates a strategic vision for LMU's future: "In fulfillment of its mission, LMU will form a new generation of ethical leaders able to identify, analyze, and respond to the most challenging problems facing our rapidly changing global society." Three strategic commitments are integral to the successful achievement of that vision: anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion; innovation and adaptability; and extending LMU's reach. The complete plan is available at: https://resources.lmu.edu/strategicplan2021-2026/. The strategic planning process provided the impetus and direction for LMU's $750 million campaign, which will enter into its public phase in the fall of 2025.
Position Specific Responsibilities
The General Counsel will serve as the principal legal advisor for the University, with overall responsibility for the vision and leadership of the University's legal strategy. This is the first in-house General Counsel for LMU. Reporting to the President, the General Counsel will provide legal advice and work collaboratively with the President, the Board of Trustees and senior university leaders. The General Counsel will be expected to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and collaborative environment.
The role has significant responsibility advising and providing counsel to the President, the Board of Trustees, and senior management across all institutional areas including higher education law, governance, business law, employment law, contracts, and real estate.
This is an exciting opportunity to create an effective legal advisory function within LMU, while joining a mission-driven University.
Key Responsibilities
• Serve as the University's first primary in-house legal officer and advisor to the President and Board of Trustees, and as a member of the President's Cabinet, providing timely, practical, and responsive legal advice on a variety of issues associated with the administration, management, and operation of the corporation, University and campus.
• Serve as a strategic partner to the President, Board of Trustees and University leadership responding to and solving problems as they arise, and offering honest and accurate assessments of legal risk.
• Understand the diverse needs and agendas of various stakeholder groups and communicate effectively with trustees, officers, administrators, students, faculty, and staff.
• Proactively contribute to strategic planning for the University and play a key role in the implementation of identified goals and priorities.
• Advise the President on legal matters involving the University's activities and operations to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, contracts, and business practices and to maintain a culture of integrity at the University.
• Maintain knowledge and understanding of trends and critical change in the higher education legal landscape and proactively address the impact of these changes on the University.
• Serve as a trusted strategic partner with University business units, providing practical advice and alternative solutions to business issues.
• Keep informed on legislation and case law developments affecting overall operations of the University or the legal practice area.
• Oversee, manage and advise on a range of litigation matters and on critical contractual obligations.
• Advise and counsel on a variety of issues impacting students and campus life including but not limited to Title IX, student privacy, accommodation issues, and mental health and conduct issues.
• Review, refresh and lead university administration and staff training on legal matters.
• Analyze current inventory of legal needs and processes across the University, and create processes for legal in-house department moving forward.
• Determine when external legal resources are necessary, retain resources for legal assistance and supervise and manage work performed by outside counsel.
• Build and hire a small legal team, create performance goals and metrics and provide an environment of individual growth and career development.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the President of Loyola Marymount University.
Requisite Qualifications
• A J.D. degree from an accredited institution and strong academic credentials.
• Candidate must be a member of the CA bar or eligible to practice law in CA as a registered in-house counsel.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
• At least ten (10) years of experience in the higher education space.
• Extensive knowledge of higher education law and practice.
• Prior experience as a General Counsel, or as an in-house attorney in a university or college setting in roles of progressive responsibility.
• Excellent analytical and legal skills in order to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of this position.
• Intellectual and emotional intelligence, flexibility, creativity, judgment, integrity, and comfort dealing with an extensive array of legal matters in a complex, diverse, and distributed organizational culture.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate clearly, logically, and persuasively during interactions and utilize active listening skills.
• Previous management or supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated ability to make and communicate hard decisions; demonstrated credibility to win support for those decisions.
Key Interpersonal Attributes
• Exhibit behavior that supports the mission, vision, and values of LMU.
• Promote an environment that supports diversity and inclusivity.
• Communicate and employ interpersonal actions that model high standards of professional, responsible, accountable, and ethical conduct.
• Demonstrate a commitment to outstanding customer service.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills to interact effectively and develop and maintain productive working relationships with an array of diverse interests, individuals, and constituencies.
The expected salary range for this position is $325,000 to $380,000 plus excellent benefits. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
For full consideration
Interested candidates should submit a resume in Microsoft Word format addressed to:
Heather Fine
Partner
In-House Counsel Recruiting
hfine@mlaglobal.com
Joanna Herman
Partner
In-House Counsel Recruiting
jherman@mlaglobal.com
Valerie Davidovsky
Search Specialist
In-House Counsel Recruiting
vdavidovsky@mlaglobal.com
You may be required to complete additional documents to be considered for this position.
Please do not contact the University directly; all resumes sent to the University will be routed to MLA for handling and will create delays.
#HERC# #HEJ#
Staff Regular
Loyola Marymount University, a Carnegie classified R2 institution in the mainstream of American Catholic higher education, seeks outstanding applicants who value its mission and share its commitment to inclusive excellence, the education of the whole person, and the building of a just society. LMU is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing an environment free from discrimination and harassment as defined by federal, state and local law. We invite all persons in the full diversity of their being, life experience, and beliefs to apply. (Visit www.lmu.edu for more information.)
LMU's main campus is located just minutes from Los Angeles International Airport in L.A.'s tech corridor known as Silicon Beach, where innovation and media thrive and world-changing ideas are imagined, formed, and disseminated. The campus sits on a bluff overlooking the Pacific coast and is regularly named one of the top 10 most beautiful campuses in the United States. LMU Loyola Law School's campus, designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, is in the heart of the thriving downtown legal community. In 2018, LMU opened its third Los Angeles campus in Playa Vista, affording it the ability to grow its industry partnerships through immersive and interdisciplinary learning opportunities, career pathways for students, and community engaged learning and service projects.
LMU has been recognized internationally as among the nation's best for its programs, curricula, and student life. LMU ranks No. 93 among national universities on US News & World Report's 2023-24 Best Colleges list, and the Wall Street Journal ranked LMU among the top 15 percent of all U.S. colleges and universities in their World University Rankings in 2022. For information on LMU's rankings, visit lmu.edu/factsfiguresrankings. LMU, an R2 institution in the Carnegie classifications, has a highly esteemed faculty who are globally recognized scholars, including Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, Fulbright scholars, and many other accomplished academic leaders.
LMU delivers an exceptional learning experience to its roughly 10,000 students and enrolls an academically ambitious, multicultural, and socioeconomically diverse student body. It recruits competitive students from an increasingly talented, diverse, and global applicant pool from every state and nearly 100 countries. The University's cocurricular programs include 20 Division I and varsity sports, 20 housing facilities, 222 registered student organizations, 31 fraternities, sororities, and service organizations, and nationally acclaimed, student-run media programs in radio, television, yearbook, and newspaper. LMU students are committed to working for and with others; they provide over 250,000 annual community and pro bono service hours to nearly 250 community organizations.
LMU provides more than 5,400 jobs concentrated in California.
Loyola Marymount University's Mission
LMU offers rigorous undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs and by intention and philosophy, the University invites ambitious individuals diverse in talents, interests, and cultural backgrounds to enrich its educational community and advance its threefold mission:
• The encouragement of learning
• The education of the whole person
• The service of faith and the promotion of justice
The University takes its fundamental inspiration from the combined heritage of the Society of Jesus, The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, a composite religious heritage that distinguishes LMU among Catholic universities. Informed by Roman Catholicism's robust social teaching and commitment to justice, LMU enrolls, employs, and celebrates the contributions of persons of all faiths to its distinctive mission. Please visit Mission and Ministry at: https://mission.lmu.edu/ to view the full mission statement and our complement of faith-based programs.
Loyola Marymount University's Strategic Plan
"Creating the World We Want to Live In" is LMU's strategic plan for the 2021-26 period. This plan articulates a strategic vision for LMU's future: "In fulfillment of its mission, LMU will form a new generation of ethical leaders able to identify, analyze, and respond to the most challenging problems facing our rapidly changing global society." Three strategic commitments are integral to the successful achievement of that vision: anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion; innovation and adaptability; and extending LMU's reach. The complete plan is available at: https://resources.lmu.edu/strategicplan2021-2026/. The strategic planning process provided the impetus and direction for LMU's $750 million campaign, which will enter into its public phase in the fall of 2025.
Position Specific Responsibilities
The General Counsel will serve as the principal legal advisor for the University, with overall responsibility for the vision and leadership of the University's legal strategy. This is the first in-house General Counsel for LMU. Reporting to the President, the General Counsel will provide legal advice and work collaboratively with the President, the Board of Trustees and senior university leaders. The General Counsel will be expected to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and collaborative environment.
The role has significant responsibility advising and providing counsel to the President, the Board of Trustees, and senior management across all institutional areas including higher education law, governance, business law, employment law, contracts, and real estate.
This is an exciting opportunity to create an effective legal advisory function within LMU, while joining a mission-driven University.
Key Responsibilities
• Serve as the University's first primary in-house legal officer and advisor to the President and Board of Trustees, and as a member of the President's Cabinet, providing timely, practical, and responsive legal advice on a variety of issues associated with the administration, management, and operation of the corporation, University and campus.
• Serve as a strategic partner to the President, Board of Trustees and University leadership responding to and solving problems as they arise, and offering honest and accurate assessments of legal risk.
• Understand the diverse needs and agendas of various stakeholder groups and communicate effectively with trustees, officers, administrators, students, faculty, and staff.
• Proactively contribute to strategic planning for the University and play a key role in the implementation of identified goals and priorities.
• Advise the President on legal matters involving the University's activities and operations to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, contracts, and business practices and to maintain a culture of integrity at the University.
• Maintain knowledge and understanding of trends and critical change in the higher education legal landscape and proactively address the impact of these changes on the University.
• Serve as a trusted strategic partner with University business units, providing practical advice and alternative solutions to business issues.
• Keep informed on legislation and case law developments affecting overall operations of the University or the legal practice area.
• Oversee, manage and advise on a range of litigation matters and on critical contractual obligations.
• Advise and counsel on a variety of issues impacting students and campus life including but not limited to Title IX, student privacy, accommodation issues, and mental health and conduct issues.
• Review, refresh and lead university administration and staff training on legal matters.
• Analyze current inventory of legal needs and processes across the University, and create processes for legal in-house department moving forward.
• Determine when external legal resources are necessary, retain resources for legal assistance and supervise and manage work performed by outside counsel.
• Build and hire a small legal team, create performance goals and metrics and provide an environment of individual growth and career development.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the President of Loyola Marymount University.
Requisite Qualifications
• A J.D. degree from an accredited institution and strong academic credentials.
• Candidate must be a member of the CA bar or eligible to practice law in CA as a registered in-house counsel.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
• At least ten (10) years of experience in the higher education space.
• Extensive knowledge of higher education law and practice.
• Prior experience as a General Counsel, or as an in-house attorney in a university or college setting in roles of progressive responsibility.
• Excellent analytical and legal skills in order to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of this position.
• Intellectual and emotional intelligence, flexibility, creativity, judgment, integrity, and comfort dealing with an extensive array of legal matters in a complex, diverse, and distributed organizational culture.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate clearly, logically, and persuasively during interactions and utilize active listening skills.
• Previous management or supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated ability to make and communicate hard decisions; demonstrated credibility to win support for those decisions.
Key Interpersonal Attributes
• Exhibit behavior that supports the mission, vision, and values of LMU.
• Promote an environment that supports diversity and inclusivity.
• Communicate and employ interpersonal actions that model high standards of professional, responsible, accountable, and ethical conduct.
• Demonstrate a commitment to outstanding customer service.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills to interact effectively and develop and maintain productive working relationships with an array of diverse interests, individuals, and constituencies.
The expected salary range for this position is $325,000 to $380,000 plus excellent benefits. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
For full consideration
Interested candidates should submit a resume in Microsoft Word format addressed to:
Heather Fine
Partner
In-House Counsel Recruiting
hfine@mlaglobal.com
Joanna Herman
Partner
In-House Counsel Recruiting
jherman@mlaglobal.com
Valerie Davidovsky
Search Specialist
In-House Counsel Recruiting
vdavidovsky@mlaglobal.com
You may be required to complete additional documents to be considered for this position.
Please do not contact the University directly; all resumes sent to the University will be routed to MLA for handling and will create delays.
#HERC# #HEJ#
Staff Regular
Loyola Marymount University, a Carnegie classified R2 institution in the mainstream of American Catholic higher education, seeks outstanding applicants who value its mission and share its commitment to inclusive excellence, the education of the whole person, and the building of a just society. LMU is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing an environment free from discrimination and harassment as defined by federal, state and local law. We invite all persons in the full diversity of their being, life experience, and beliefs to apply. (Visit www.lmu.edu for more information.)
