The Office of General Counsel (OGC) actively engages with the Cornell University community through our “Conversations with Office of General Counsel” workshop series. These workshops are designed to address legal challenges common in higher education and offer an opportunity to partner with our campus colleagues before legal issues arise.

For general information on any of the sessions listed below, or if you’d like to schedule a session for your unit, please contact the office as listed on our Contact Us page.

 

Advancing DEI in the Current Legal Landscape

• Contact Wendy Tarlow, Lead for People and Belonging Practice Group (wet2@cornell.edu)

OGC experts will present a comprehensive overview of the legal context in which the university can advance its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), consistent with Ezra Cornell’s founding principle of “… any person … any study.” Using illustrative examples, the office will offer creative strategies for reducing legal and reputational risks, while advancing DEI in the areas of gifts and scholarship; employment; student and alumni programming; and health care.

 

Defense and Indemnification

• Contact Valerie Cross Dorn, Lead for Litigation, Administrative Proceedings, and Regulatory Compliance Practice Group (vlc1@cornell.edu)

What to Know Under Policy 4.9: If the university is sued – for reasons ranging from contract disputes with vendors to discrimination claims by students or employees – such claims will usually name the university as the defendant. They may also name individual units or employees, faculty or volunteers. University Policy 4.9 provides for legal defense and indemnification of eligible individuals arising from their good-faith performance of duties on Cornell’s behalf. There are exceptions, however, to both defense and indemnification; OGC litigation experts will share policy and relevant procedures, with case scenarios to inform participants of the who, what, when, why and how may be covered.

 

Contracts 101

• Contact Nancy E. Klotz, Lead for Business, Charitable Giving, and Transactions Practice Group (nklotz@cornell.edu)

OGC business experts will conduct a primer on contracts – their core elements, university procedures for contract review and approval, and tips for working effectively with OGC. The basic program is geared toward business office managers, and contract administrators with responsibility for contract management. A version of the presentation reviewing commonly negotiated contract terms and considerations is available for those with responsibility for higher-level risk decisions but without direct responsibility for contract administration.

 

Data: Ownership, Rights and Responsibilities, and Contract Practice Pointers

• Contact Rob Hoon, Lead for Research, Technology, and Academic Innovation Practice Group (rrh74@cornell.edu)

This workshop will focus on contract language and clauses, and their implications on the parties’ respective rights surrounding data use, sharing and management. OGC research experts will cover practical solutions for preserving rights to data use, attribution, management and sharing, as well as human subjects’ protections, privacy and data security considerations. Intended for faculty and researchers, or employees negotiating agreements involving projects that generate data, this primer will also include treatment of open-source alternatives to enable (or limit) downstream use of data and research results.