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Webinar

Ethical Obligations: Balancing Personal Beliefs and Professional Duties

December 8, 2025 | 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm EST

Event Details

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About this Event

Today’s rapidly changing higher ed legal landscape creates many challenges for college and university counsel as they work to provide timely and sound legal advice to their university clients while also ensuring that they adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards. As new federal and state laws, executive orders, and guidance from various federal agencies are implemented on campuses across the country, general counsels’ offices are often faced with a variety of ethical challenges. This webinar will explore how counsel can navigate these challenges effectively while maintaining their role as advocates and providing sound legal advice for their institutional clients. 

Please join us for this two-hour webinar in which two experienced practitioners will cover: 

  • Counsel’s ethical obligations both broadly and under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct; 
  • Ethical challenges that may arise when counsel advises clients on controversial issues involving faculty, staff, and students;  
  • Challenges and approaches to advising clients where representation of a client’s position runs against the lawyer’s personal, political, economic, social or moral views or activities:
  • Methods of gracefully and ethically exiting representative matters when conflicts cannot be overcome. 

Who should attend? 

This webinar will be of interest to college and university counsel who work within the Office of General Counsel, in other various legal roles throughout the institution, outside counsel, and senior institutional leaders. 

Register now for a concise, impactful learning experience and to receive ethics CLE credit!

Speakers

Youndy Cook

Vice President and General Counsel

University of Central Florida

Member, 2024-2027

Youndy C. Cook joined the University of Central Florida Office of the General Counsel in April 2002, and became the Vice President and General Counsel in December 2020. Prior to joining the University, she practiced labor and employment litigation in Tampa, Florida. Ms. Cook works across the University and its direct support organizations on a wide variety of issues, including governance, employment matters, litigation, student affairs, public records, compliance, policies, regulations, and contracts. Ms. Cook received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law. Ms. Cook has maintained Florida Bar certification as a Specialist in Education Law since 2012. When Ms. Cook joined UCF’s Office of the General Counsel in 2002, she also joined NACUA and has been an active member since then, serving on various committees over the years. Ms. Cook is a member of the Board of Directors of the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Inc. She is also active in the Florida Bar, where she has served on the Education Law Committee and has joined the Corporate Counsel Committee. 

Richard Uchida

Vice President, Secretary of the College, and General Counsel

Colby College

Richard Uchida is the Vice President, Secretary of the College, and General Counsel of Colby College in Maine. He serves as the College’s chief legal affairs officer, representing the College on legal and regulatory issues, providing a range of legal and risk management services, and overseeing the College’s work with outside counsel. As secretary of the college, he is also the principal liaison to the Board of Trustees and promotes, facilitates, and supports governance practices across the College to further its long-range strategic interests. At Colby College, he served as vice chair of the Board of Trustees for seven years. He was also a member of Colby’s 2013 presidential search committee and served on multiple trustee committees and task forces while on the Board.  

Prior to Colby, Uchida was a partner in Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, a law firm with offices in Manchester, NH, Boston, Hartford, Albany, New York City, and Providence, focusing on real estate development and representation of attorneys and firms in ethics matters. He earned his law degree from the University of New Hampshire School of Law, where he also served as an adjunct professor and a trustee. Richard also served as president of the New Hampshire Bar Association from 2005-2006, and was a member of the Association’s Board of Governors for over a decade. He was also chair of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice, and a member of the New Hampshire Judicial Council. Richard also served on a number of bar and court committees during his time in New Hampshire. Richard has served on panels for a number of NACUA events and is a member of the Association of Governing Board’s Council of Board Professionals. 

Program Schedule

TimeSession Topic
1:30pmWelcome and Introductions
Counsel’s ethical obligations both broadly and under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Challenges and approaches to advising clients where representation of a client’s position runs against the lawyer’s personal, political, economic, social or moral views or activities
2:30pmQ&A
Ethical challenges that may arise when counsel advise clients on controversial issues involving faculty, staff, and students
Methods of gracefully and ethically exiting representative matters when conflicts cannot be overcome.
Q&A
3:30pmConclusion

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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