Monica C. Barrett

Monica joined the firm as a member in 2016 after having served as Interim General Counsel at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She provides legal advice and counsel to colleges and universities, public school districts, and independent schools in all aspects of education law, including student affairs, faculty tenure and promotion, governance issues, athletics, and academic affairs.

Monica advises on staff and student employment, grievances, student conduct and discipline, Title IX policies and investigations, threat assessment and behavior intervention, FERPA, public-records, accreditation, regulatory and nonprofit compliance, bylaws, and policy handbooks. She counsels clients on a variety of employment law issues, such as executive contracts and compensation, severance agreements, disability accommodations, FMLA and other leave issues, and misconduct investigations. Monica partners with other attorneys at the firm to conduct investigations at all levels of client institutions. She also defends institutions before state and federal agencies and courts.

Monica’s responsibilities at Rutgers encompassed the full range of legal and compliance issues facing a state-wide research university with major professional schools and 29 labor unions, 20,000 employees, and a student body of approximately 65,000. As a key member on the President's Cabinet she was responsible for advising the President and members of the Boards on all legal issues, and supervising a staff of 18 lawyers.

Monica is a frequent presenter at National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) national conferences and she has been widely published on a variety of higher education topics. Previously, she was employed as Executive Deputy General Counsel at the State University of New York; Associate General Counsel at Cornell University; and Assistant General Counsel at Barnard College.