• Principal advisor to the System’s Chief Academic Officer, President, and governing board
on the higher ed regulatory framework, including the Higher Education Act of 1965, U.S. Department of Education processes, Federal Student Aid and GI Bill eligibility, programmatic and institutional accreditation, and professional licensing requirements. Representative matters include successfully defending a constituent law school’s American Bar Association accreditation, including at hearing.• Leads three teams with enterprise level responsibility for accreditation, research compliance, faculty relations, academic program approval, strategic alignment and policy development, and governing board relations.• Organizes the 30-employee Academic Affairs Division’s alignment with the System’s strategic plan. Initiatives include improving student financial literacy to lower debt at graduation, increasing participation in employer tuition payment plans, consolidating enrollment planning, and promoting best practices for non-degree credentials. 
• Leads the System’s efforts to react to higher ed regulatory and statutory changes. Develops the strategies necessary to comply with or take advantage of the changes.
Representative matters include ensuring the System’s online programs meet federal 
faculty/student interaction requirements, the System’s use of multiple academic start dates complies with FSA requirements and that the System exploits regulatory flexibilities around disaggregated faculty, competency-based education, and expanded eligibility for student aid.
• Directs North Carolina’s state licensing processes for private and out-of-state colleges. Led overhaul of North Carolina’s licensing and student complaint systems to increase transparency and student protections. 
• Between 2018 and 2022, directed the North Carolina State Approving Agency (NCSAA),
which provides approval and oversight for institutions in the state that seek to participate in GI Bill funding.

• Lead attorney for major postsecondary initiatives and enforcement actions includingfraud investigations brought against private equity-backed and publicly tradedinstitutions. Reviewed complex changes-in-ownership and high visibility conversions offor-profit institutions to non-profit status for compliance with the Higher Education Actand its implementing regulations. Coordinated these activities across the Department,including with senior political leadership. Developed legal theories to be asserted,reviewed and ensured the sufficiency of the evidence, and drafted the actions. Served asliaison on these matters to external stakeholders including states’ attorneys general,higher education authorizing agencies, accreditors, and other federal agencies.• Department’s lead attorney on major False Claims Act cases against institutions ofhigher education. Investigated relators’ allegations and determined whether interventionby the United States was appropriate. Liaised with the Department of Justice and U.S.Attorneys’ offices to litigate when the government intervened.• First-chair advocate in administrative litigation claims brought by Federal Student Aidagainst institutions misusing Title IV funds in the Department’s Office of Hearings andAppeals. Directed five multi-million-dollar recoveries.

• Served as outside general counsel to Methodist University, a regionally accreditednonprofit university of 2,000 students. Responsible for all compliance efforts, includingTitle IX, Title VII, FMLA, FERPA, ADA, and Section 504 compliance. Spearheaded theuniversity’s response to a CERCLA inquiry from the EPA and an ADA/Section 504investigation conducted by the Department of Education. Led efforts to substantivelyrevise the university’s Title IX adjudication procedures. Extensive experiencecounseling university leadership on complex employment issues, including for tenuredfaculty.• Successfully represented clients in civil disputes before state and federal trial courts, theNorth Carolina Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Industrial Commission,professional licensing bodies, and in investigations conducted by federal agencies.Tried multiple cases to verdict, including eminent domain, unfair and deceptive tradepractices, and similar matters.

• Prosecuted to jury verdict seven fully litigated felony courts-martial and numerousshorter courts-martial and hearings, including six which required significant scientific ormedical expert testimony. Prosecuted crimes committed by civilians on base pursuant tothe Assimilative Crimes Act in federal district courts. Supervised junior attorneys inthree prosecutions.• Deployed to Iraq to lead a team of paralegals in document search for ACLU Freedom ofInformation Act request. Team reviewed, redacted, and released over 75,000 pages ofdocuments, leading to the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of Defense.