Spotlighting
L 16 THRIVING
ON CAMPUS Mary E. Kennard BY PATRICK FOLLIARD
For Mary E. Kennard, law school was meant to be a stepping stone on her way to becoming a local politician in her native Philadelphia. But as her first and second years progressed, and she became more interested in case law than canvassing and elections, her career goals took a turn. Today, Kennard is vice president, chief legal counsel, and secretary of the Board of Trustees for American University in Washington, D.C., and while she is not involved in municipal politics, Kennard says in many ways she feels like she is helping to run a small city.
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011
ike most universities, American faces a staggeringly broad spectrum of legal issues: “We [Kennard’s fi ve-attorney legal department] cover almost every substantive area you can imagine: real estate, tax, contracts, and trust and estate questions.
“We have a radio station, so there’s broadcast law, and
because we have a residence hall and police, there are issues of search and seizure. And then there’s athletics which involves NCAA Compliance, coaches’ contracts, and recruitment of athletes.” Being GC at a diverse and international university
(American runs over 30 world capitals study abroad programs along with international research) is not so dif- ferent from working for any large corporation, Kennard says. “If you’re in-house you need to know the business line and be perceived by the other VPs as part of the solution, a partner in making the business successful. What’s diff erent [at American] is that we’re involved in so many diff erent business lines.” A university GC, Kennard continues, “must
enjoy being a generalist or they will not be happy.” Some schools with larger legal departments allow for more specialization, and universities with hospitals employ lawyers who focus exclusively on health law, but they are not the rule. Kennard adds, “It’s also important that a GC in higher education know their strengths and weaknesses, and be able to reach out for help when needed.” An important source of support for Kennard and
other university in-house counsel is the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), a trade group whose purpose is to give legal assistance to colleges and universities by educating attorneys and administrators about campus legal issues. Membership is comprised of hundreds of colleges and universities and their legal staff s throughout the U.S., Canada, and abroad. “It’s very helpful to be able to ask questions and get feedback from other schools, particu- larly when the legal department consists of one or two lawyers, which is sometimes the case,” says Kennard, who early in her career worked at NACUA and more recently served as the association’s president. “Legal issues tend to go across the country at the same time. Large and small schools deal with similar matters; some- times there are diff erences between state and private schools, but not a lot.”
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