Associate General Counsel - (3 - Positions)

About URI

The University of Rhode Island enrolls approximately 17,000 students across its graduate and undergraduate programs and is the State's flagship public research university, as well as the land grant and sea grant university, for the state of Rhode Island. The main campus is located in the historic village of Kingston, and the Bay Campus is located in Narragansett. Both campuses are near major beaches in a beautiful coastal community. URI is just 30 minutes from Providence, RI and within easy reach of Newport, Boston, and New York City.

THE POSITIONS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR HYBRID OR IN-PERSON WORK SCHEDULE.

Position Summary

Assists the General Counsel of the University in providing legal services to the University community and the University President and Board of Trustees as may be required. Performs standard legal work and/or participates in the performance of wide-ranging, fast-paced, and complex legal work involving multiple stakeholders to include such areas as governance and open meetings, research and sponsored programs, policy review, legal compliance issues, contract reviews, real property, employment, labor, intellectual property, privacy and confidentiality, complex transactions, student affairs, athletics, public records, purchasing, civil rights, and academic affairs. Participates and/or assists in the conduct of litigation as assigned.

Duties and Responsibilities

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification at the direction of the General Counsel. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities required of employees assigned to the job.

Essential Functions:

• Review and maintain currency with laws, rules, and regulations affecting higher education and changes to University policy and keep current with legal implications of those changes. Anticipate, identify, and help to resolve legal and strategic risk management issues.
• Provides well-rounded expert advice to management in order to develop legal strategies and solutions.
• Draft and review policies and procedures, regulations, bylaws, and other documents within legal specialty areas.
• Research and analyze laws and regulations and prepare legal documents that include memoranda and correspondence.
• Educate and train University community about legal issues.
• Conduct and supervise legal research and analysis. Prepare written and verbal opinions of counsel as needed.
• Review, prepare, and approve for legal sufficiency contracts, including form and template agreements.
• Coordinate legal services to departments and divisions within areas of legal specialty.
• Represent the University before agencies, boards, committees, commissions, and courts in administrative hearings and litigation and/or oversee such representation.
• Negotiate settlements involving legal issues or transactions on behalf of the University in conjunction with other University officials and the General Counsel.
• Supervise support staff, law student interns or externs, and/or outside counsel on a project basis.
• Represent the Office of General Counsel at meetings and on committees, task forces and work groups as assigned.
• Assist the General Counsel by providing client-focused and mission-oriented legal services to the departments, colleges, officials and employees of the University and perform such other and related duties as directed by the General Counsel.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Perform other related duties as required.

LICENSES, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT:

Individually assigned computers, printers; word processing, spreadsheet, and database software; Westlaw and other online legal research platforms. License to practice law in the state of Rhode Island and be a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association at the time of appointment, or eligible and willing to obtain such admission if also a member in good standing of the bar of any other state and eligible to register with the Rhode Island Supreme Court as an "in-house counsel"

Posting Date: 08/26/2026

To apply, visit https://jobs.uri.edu/postings/16998

Organization

The University of Rhode Island

Founded in 1892, this land and sea grant university is the flagship public research institution in Rhode Island, enrolling more than 14,500 undergraduate students and 2,000 graduate students.

Thinking big
URI is home to some of today's leading innovators, discoverers, and creative problem solvers and is known regionally and worldwide for its big ideas and pioneering research in such areas as environmental studies, neuroscience, biotechnology and life sciences, engineering, marine sciences, forensic sciences, pharmaceuticals, behavioral sciences, and public health promotion. A strong core of traditional academic disciplines provides the foundation for all specialized, professional, and applied areas of study. The University receives about $60 million annually in federal funding for research across 87 undergraduate and 70 graduate degree programs.

Motivated students, engaged faculty
Nearly 23,000 students applied for fewer than 3,300 openings in the 2017 freshman class, which boasts an average grade point average of 3.54. The 17 to 1 student/faculty ratio allows for personal attention and rewarding teaching experiences. Approximately 87 percent of faculty hold terminal degrees. In 2018 URI produced two Fulbright Scholars, five Boren Scholars, a Truman Scholar, and was named a one of the country's top Gilman scholar-producing schools. URI's commitment to diversity is demonstrated through its student body, with 43 states and 65 nations represented and 20 percent of students identifying as persons of color, a 65 percent increase since 2008.

Four campuses, one community
URI's main campus is located on 1,248 acres in rural Kingston, where the campus core — including a quadrangle surrounded by handsome granite buildings — is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Six miles from Rhode Island's beaches, this campus is conveniently situated along the Boston to New York corridor. The University's renowned Graduate School of Oceanography is located at the 165-acre Narragansett Bay Campus. The Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies brings higher education to downtown Providence. Nearby, the 133,000-square-foot Rhode Island Nursing Education Center includes unparalleled simulation labs. The W. Alton Jones Campus — 2,300 acres of forests, lakes, and farmland in West Greenwich — provides a secluded setting for academic research, environmental education, business meetings and special events.

Investing in the future
Since 2007, the University has invested $607 million in campus capital projects, including: a $150 million engineering complex, due to open in 2019; Brookside, another new apartment-style residence hall, 2019; a Welcome Center, 2018; the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center, 2017; Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences, 2016; and Avedisian Hall, home to the College of Pharmacy, 2012.

Expertise on demand
The University is home to several centers of expertise that tackle some of society's most vexing challenges. The George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience brings multi-disciplinary research to bear on devastating brain diseases, such as ALS and Alzheimer's. The Digital Forensics and Cyber Security Center supports state, national, and international public welfare through education, research, training, and service. The Business Engagement Center is the "front door" through which industry taps into research and training opportunities and assistance with intellectual property or technology issues. The R.I. Food Center brings URI's agricultural roots to the 21st century as a resource for farmers, consumers, retailers, and others across the food industry

Company info
Telephone: 401-874-1000
Location: 80 Lower College Road, North Kingston, Rhode Island, 02881, United States