Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

General counsel seeks deputy

Emerson is seeking a deputy general counsel to assist in legal matters pertaining to the college.

Christine Hughes, vice president and general counsel, is in charge of the search. Betsy Facher Rauch, former associate general counsel, left Emerson in mid-October to serve as Babson College’s Title IX coordinator.  

After 10 years working on the legal team, Facher Rauch became Emerson’s first full-time Title IX coordinator on an interim basis last spring. Hughes said that she’d planned to promote Facher Rauch to deputy general counsel when she returned from her interim position, but that Facher Rauch wanted to continue working with Title IX instead.

Facher Rauch was not available for comment before press time.

Emerson’s legal team will continue to only have two people, but the deputy will have more time working with the president and trustees, Hughes said.

According to Hughes, she is making the switch from having an associate to a deputy so she can fully train someone to replace her, although she has no current plans to leave. The deputy will also help her oversee work of outside counsel, a job which she said has fallen almost entirely on her in past years.

Since the job was posted in early October, there have been about 130 applicants, Hughes said.

According to the job listing, the minimum salary for the position is $101,500 per year. Applicants must have a Juris Doctor degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, good standing within the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, and at least seven year’s experience in law.

“I’m looking for a legal athlete,” Hughes said. “I’m looking for sophisticated work at law firms or challenging public service.”

Many of the applicants are coming from public or private sector, but not from universities, according to Hughes.

“There aren’t all that many applicants with higher education experience,” Hughes said. “Once people get a higher ed legal job, they tend not to move. They tend to like it.”

From the applications, Hughes said she is narrowing down the pool to about 25, some of whom she has already begun interviewing. She will then choose four to six for the second round of interviews, where they will meet President M. Lee Pelton and some vice presidents. She said those meetings will probably take place before and after winter break. She said there is no concrete timeline, because she would rather do it right than quickly.

According to Hughes, there will likely be no student panels or input into the decision, because the counsel will having very little interaction with the student body, and other confidentiality concerns.

“Several of the applicants are high power political consultants and partners at law firms,” Hughes said. “It could be newsworthy if people knew they were looking for another job.”

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