
Higher Education Legal Conference

About the Event
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
9:00AM – 6:00PM
Aloft Hotel, Boston
The Boston Bar Association’s 2025 Higher Education Legal Conference brings together college and university in-house lawyers, administrators, and firm practitioners to discuss the complex legal needs of higher education institutions in a changing world.
Detailed agenda and speaker information to follow.
Agenda
Agenda
9:00am – 10:15am
Day 51: Higher Education Under the New Administration and What Lies Ahead
Moderators:
- Alexandra A. Mitropoulos, Senior Counsel, Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP
- Denise Barton, Chief Deputy General Counsel, University of Massachusetts
10:30am –11:45am
Trending Now in Higher Ed
11:45am – 1:00pm
Leadership Perspectives
Lunch (15-20 min) + Panel (50-60 min)
Moderator:
- Christina Royal, President-in-Residence, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Speakers:
- Dr. Pam Eddinger, President, Bunker Hill Community College
1:15pm – 2:15pm
College Athletics: Navigating a Changing Game
Moderator:
- Gerard Leone, Special Counsel, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Speakers:
- Janet Judge, Partner, Education & Sports Law Group LLC
- Brigid Harrington, Senior Attorney, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
- Maria Sheehy, Associate General Counsel, University of Massachusetts OGC
1:15pm – 2:15pm
AI and Higher Education Contracts – Practical Advice for In-House Counsel
Moderator:
- Amy Fabiano, Senior Attorney, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Speakers:
- Guilherme Costa, General Counsel and Secretary of the Board, Bentley University
- Marc De Saint Maurice, Associate General Counsel, Boston University
- Christina M. Graziano, General Counsel and Vice President for Strategy, Assumption University
- Esther C. Haley Walker, Associate General Counsel, Dartmouth College
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Student Accommodations: Collective Action & Emerging Trends
- Abra Francois, Associate General Counsel, Tufts University
- Philip Catanzano, Co-Founder, Education & Sports Law Group and University Lecturer, Harvard University
- Stephanie Charles, Associate General Counsel, Boston College
- Kirsten Behling, Associate Dean of Student Accessibility and Academic Resources, Tufts University
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Navigating Partnerships with Foreign Countries of Concern
Moderator:
- Martin A. Oppenheimer, Associate General Counsel, Boston University
Speakers:
- Mark Barnes, Partner, Ropes & Gray
- Andrew Karberg, Associate Counsel, University of Massachusetts Boston – Office of General Counsel
3:45pm – 4:45pm
Post-Chevron and What’s Next for Higher Ed
Moderator:
- Destinee Waiters, Senior Associate General Counsel, Suffolk University
Speakers:
- Matthew Connolly, Partner, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP
- Timothy Casey, Chief, Constitutional & Administrative Law Division, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
- Constantia T. Papanikolaou, Chief Legal Counsel, Massachusetts Board and Department of Higher Education
3:45pm – 4:45pm
Preparing for Congressional Hearings
Moderator:
- Lilly Huang, Associate General Counsel, Boston University
Speakers:
- Daniel F. Donovan, Partner, King & Spalding
- Rachael Dane, Vice President, Issues Management Group
4:45pm – 6:00pm
Networking Reception
Steering Committee
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Denise Barton |
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Alyssa Cherubino |
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Amy Fabiano |
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Abra Francois |
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Lilly Huang |
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Gerard T. Leone |
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Alexandra Mitropoulos |
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Karen Petrulakis |
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Destinee Waiters |
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Gina Yarbrough |
Sponsorship
For more information on sponsoring this conference, click here or contact Asha Kanadia at akanadia@bostonbar.org.