The Office of University Counsel (OUC) is the chief legal officer for the University and serves as legal advisor to the President and the Board of Trustees. It's attorneys provide legal advice and representation to the University, its administrators, employees, University Related Organizations, and other agents of the University at all campuses. The Office also employs and coordinates the work of outside counsel, and is responsible for the legal aspects of University contracts and matters in dispute.As Senior Associate University Counsel on the Chicago campus, I serve as a mentor to and provide oversight of the junior attorneys in the OUC. I also provide advice and counsel to faculty, staff, and administration at all levels on a variety of legal issues, including: • Unlawful discrimination and harassment;• Compliance with Federal & State legal and ethics requirements;• Emerging legislation; • The 1st Amendment (freedom of speech and freedom of religion); • Due process; • Equal protection; • Privacy rights and protections; • Research Misconduct• Bankruptcy;• Wage Deductions; and• Lapsed Appropriation Claims.In my role, I assist with the development & drafting of various campus and system policies and procedures involving the workplace and learning environments, and serve as an advisor to various committees and task forces.

Advise and counsel faculty, staff, and administration at all levels on a variety of legal issues, including: • Unlawful discrimination and harassment;• Compliance with Federal & State legal and ethics requirements;• Emerging legislation; • The 1st Amendment (freedom of speech and freedom of religion); • Due process; • Equal protection; • Privacy rights and protections; • Research Misconduct• Bankruptcy;• Wage Deductions; and• Lapsed Appropriation Claims.Assist with the development & drafting of various campus and system policies and procedures involving the workplace and learning environments.Serve as an advisor to various committees and task forces. Co-chair the OUC Student Practice Group, leading discussions on student related legal issues.

McCarthy Mediation and Conflict Transformation, LLC, (MMCT), offers mediation services to the higher education community and provides unique conflict resolution skills training to students, parents, and teachers at all grade levels. MMCT empowers clients to discuss differences and work together to forge a pathway forward.During her nearly 20 years managing conflict in the higher education community, Reneé observed a steady decline in people’s willingness to have difficult conversations and attempt to resolve disputes. Instead, matters were referred to others to “fix”, either through grievance/complaint procedures or via administrative agencies and courts. Inevitably, both sides simply dug deeper into their respective positions. All hope of gaining a better understanding of each other’s positions, working together toward a mutual agreement, and preserving the relationship, was lost. MMCT was born out of Reneé’s strong belief that we all can and should do a better job of talking with one another and of facing disputes head-on, though we may need help developing the skills to do so effectively. Her calm demeanor and knack for uncovering underlying interests and exploring creative ways to meet those interests have earned her the respect of colleagues and clients on both sides of the many conflicts she has managed over the last 20 years. Through MMCT, Reneé is able to utilize the skills, cultivated and enhanced through her professional experiences, to teach others how to work through a dispute or difficult situation in a confident, respectful and effective manner.

Higher Education legal advice and counsel with a focus on Title IX Compliance, as well as general policy and procedure development.

Demonstrating it's commitment to identifying and addressing medical student mistreatment and other learning environment concerns, the University of Illinois College of Medicine (UICOM) established the role of Director of Medical Student Learning Environment (DMSLE) in 2016. Based on the quality of my work as counsel to the College, I was recruited to serve as the first person to fill that role. As the DMSLE, I developed and implemented the UI COM Positive Learning Environment Policy, established a process by which those who experienced or witnessed mistreatment could report it to my office, created an online reporting portal to allow for anonymous reporting and developed guidelines for fostering a positive learning environment free from student mistreatment. In addition to creating the infrastructure for this novel position, I served as a neutral, impartial, and private resource to those who reported and sought assistance with learning environment and mistreatment concerns. In that role, I advised students, faculty and administration on how to manage conflicts and address concerns, and mediated disputes in order to preserve and foster better relationships. I received and monitored reports of student mistreatment from all four UI COM campuses (Chicago, Rockford, Peoria & Urbana) to better identify any trends or patterns involving a specific teacher, a particular department or a certain experiential site and provided feedback to UI COM administration for the purpose of improving the student learning environment. In addition, my role included the development and implementation of educational activities, information and resources, including the production of a 5-minute video describing the UI COM initiatives associated with the student learning environment.Prior to leaving the position to pursue my conflict resolution business, I was able to design and write content for the Educational Environment webpages on the UI COM website. See included link.

The Office of University Counsel (OUC) is the chief legal officer for the University and serves as legal advisor to the President and the Board of Trustees. It's attorneys provide legal advice and representation to the University, its administrators, employees, University Related Organizations, and other agents of the University at all campuses. The Office also employs and coordinates the work of outside counsel and is responsible for the legal aspects of University contracts and matters in dispute.As Senior Associate University Counsel on the Chicago campus, I served as a mentor to and provided oversight of the junior attorneys in the OUC. I was responsible for student-related conflicts and issues centered around students' rights to due process, free speech, equal protection, and to be from unlawful discrimination and retaliation, in the higher education context. The advice and counsel I provided included compliance with federal and state laws, regulations and rules focusing on transparency (e.g., FOIA and crime statistics reporting), privacy, fairness (academic and behavioral), protection for students involved in sexual misconduct and assault (e.g., Title IX), and overall campus security and safety. I advised committees and drafted and/or contributed to the drafting of several policies related to this compliance effort, such as the Campus' Sexual Misconduct policies, the Student Academic Grievance Procedures, the UIC Student Disciplinary Policy, etc. In an effort to assess and address risk to the campus community, I advised the campus behavioral intervention and threat assessment teams. When conflicts arose, I provided assistance and advice to my clients on how best to resolve the situation and, for those matters that led to litigation or outside agency claims, I selected outside counsel for, monitored, and managed those claims with an eye toward resolution.

As Associate University Counsel, my areas of expertise were similar to those described above (e.g., student-related issues centered around due process, equal protection, discrimination, and first amendment rights, management of general liability claims and compliance issues).

See description of Associate University Counsel Role above. In addition, I had responsibility for contract management.

My career as an attorney began in a small law firm in Kane County, formerly known as Ariano, Bazos, Hardy & Castillo, P.C. Reporting directly to Senior partner, Frank Ariano, I focused primarily on general civil and dissolution/post-dissolution of marriage litigation. In addition to court appearances and drafting pleadings on behalf of the Senior partner, I was soon assigned my own cases to manage and mediate. After only one year with the firm, experienced judges in Kane County began appointing me as Guardian ad Litem in child custody matters. In that role, I interviewed parents and their children to make recommendations to the court on appropriate custody arrangements. I am proud of the work I did, helping couples and children navigate their way through one of the most traumatic events in their lives. It helped me develop my skills as an empathetic, but firm negotiator and mediator.