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Webinar

You Signed What?! Delegated Contractual Authority – Best Practices and Policies

May 16, 2023 | 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT

Event Details

About this Event

At any given moment, colleges and universities manage hundreds, if not thousands, of contracts reaching all areas of campus operations. Depending on an institution’s size, it can be nearly impossible for campus counsel to review every contract. Therefore, officers and employees on campus are often granted delegated signature authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the institution.

Please join us for a 2-hour webinar where two expert NACUA member attorneys will discuss delegated contractual authority, including: 

  • Discussion on best practices for implementing a contractual authority policy or process, including tips and samples for creating a delegated contractual authority matrix;
  • Distinctions between campus counsel’s role vs. the role of institutional business partners; 
  • Litigation issues, including those related to personal liability;
  • Caselaw for both public and private institutions;
  • Issues pertaining to certain types of contracts, such as clickthrough agreements.

Who should attend?

This webinar will be of interest to in-house and outside counsel to colleges and universities, as well as other higher education administrators who draft or approve contracts.

Speakers

Kathleen Peterson

Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Employment Law

Brown University

Kathleen Peterson is Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Employment Law at Brown University. Kate came to Brown University in May of 2019 after more than a dozen years as Vice President and Senior Counsel of Employment & Litigation at Citizens Bank.  Prior to joining Citizens, Kate was a labor & employment litigator at Sullivan & Worcester LLP in Boston and Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP in both Boston and Providence.  

As Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Employment Law, Kate is responsible for advising the University on all labor and employment matters, as well as managing the University’s broad litigation portfolio.  She partners closely with division heads, human resources, compliance personnel, and key stakeholders to meaningfully provide advice and respond to and defend litigation or agency inquiries regarding employee relations functions as well as a broad range of litigation and investigations in a complex, fast-paced environment. Kate also leads employee and manager training with an eye towards compliance practices and risk mitigation and throughout her career has been a frequent speaker on a variety of labor & employment topics, ranging from wage and hour issues and ADA/FMLA concerns to the impact of social media on the workplace and related privacy implications. 

Kate graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Providence College and earned her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and her M.P.H. from Boston University School of Public Health, while serving as the school’s Health Law Fellow.  During law school, Kate served as a Note Editor on BU Law School’s American Journal of Law & Medicine.  Kate currently serves as an adjunct professor at Providence College, where she teaches business law. 

Matthew Wallis

Director of Contracts

Texas Christian University

Matthew Wallis has spent more than 20 years working in both the public and private sectors. For the past 12 years, he has served as the Director of Contracts at Texas Christian University, where he leads a small team of three to handle more than 2500 contracts annually.

As the Director of Contracts, Matthew has held the unique position of being both a contracts director and the primary contracts attorney for the university, while personally signing 90% of the University’s contracts. His expertise in contract negotiation and management has been instrumental in helping the university navigate complex legal issues and develop effective policies and procedures.

Matthew earned his law degree from Baylor University School of Law in 2000 and began his legal career as a felony prosecutor for the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office in Johnson County, Texas.  In 2002, Matthew joined the City of Fort Worth as an Assistant City Attorney, where he provided legal guidance to city officials and departments and litigated on a wide range of issues, including land use/development, code enforcement, public records, and employment law matters.  Following his time with the City of Fort Worth, he worked as associate with the law firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla and Elam from 2007 to 2011, where he represented municipal and non-profit clients, including serving as City Attorney for several Texas municipalities, including Benbrook, Ovilla, and Edgecliff Village.

Program Schedule

TimeSession Topic
12:00 P.M. ETIntroduction
Overview of signature authority process 
Caselaw update  
CQuestions & Answers
Litigation issues, including those related to personal liability
Hypotheticals  
Questions & Answers
1:30 P.M. ETConclusion

CLE

FAQs

Webinar Recording

Members who purchase the Live Webinar will receive access to the Post-Event Recording in the Online Learning Center at no additional charge. Non-members will not have post-event access to the recording or the materials and should plan to download materials during the live webinar.

If you are a member and couldn’t attend live, the event recording will be available for purchase in our Online Learning Center. The recording may be replayed at any time, but may not be copied, posted, or otherwise distributed within or outside of the institution, organization, or firm. The license entitles the purchaser to replay the recording at one campus or at one location of any organization or firm. You can purchase the Post-Event Recording here.

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