Terri is a retired partner of the firm whose practice focused on labor, employment, human resources, and higher education law.
Higher Education
As the former chair of the firm’s Higher Education practice, Terri counseled colleges and universities on:
Insider’s Knowledge of the Higher Education Sector
Terri knows higher education institutions from the inside. She began her legal career at HSE as an associate in 1989 but left us in 1992 to explore opportunities in higher education. Before returning to the firm in 2000, Terri taught at Monroe Community College (Rochester, NY) and spent seven years at the State University of New York College at Brockport as a faculty member, academic administrator, Director of Affirmative Action, and Associate Director of Human Resources. As the Director of Affirmative Action, she worked directly with the President of the College and was responsible for ensuring the College’s compliance with certain labor and employment laws and policies. Her responsibilities also included key areas of student affairs, including Title IX and Section 504. In this role—more than 20 years ago and long before the Office for Civil Rights’ current focus on conducting discrimination investigations—Terri investigated complaints of discrimination made by students, faculty, and staff, including sexual harassment. (She also has conducted such investigations in the private sector, at the highest levels of corporate organizations.) Terri regularly conducts investigations of alleged discrimination, sexual harassment and misconduct.
Upon her return to HSE in 2000, Terri’s legal advice and guidance to our higher education clients called upon these on-the-ground, campus experiences. This experience was further deepened when Terri represented a client in connection with a high-profile Title IX investigation commenced by OCR and worked on that campus full-time for the 2014-2015 academic year as special counsel in its newly created Office of Title IX Programs and Compliance. During her time on campus, Terri worked on and was involved with every aspect of Title IX compliance, training, outreach, and programming, including:
Labor and Employment
Terri’s labor practice focused on counseling private employers, colleges, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities on the wide-ranging issues falling within the scope of human resources and labor and employment law, including:
Member and former Chair, Board of Trustees, The Aquinas Institute
Member, Board of Directors Executive Committee, State University of New York College at Brockport Foundation
Member, Make Music Day Rochester Committee
Former Board Member, Community Place of Greater Rochester
Former Member and Vice President, Board of Trustees, Geva Theatre Center
Former Member and Chair, Board of Trustees, Rochester Civic Garden Center
Former Member and Treasurer, Board of Trustees, Greece Montessori School
Former Board Member, Family Services of Rochester
Former Member, Zoning Board of Appeals, Town of Clarkson
Former Member, Environmental Commission, City of Rochester
Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for Labor Law – Management
Named by The Daily Record as one of Rochester’s Attorneys of the Year, 2016
Recipient, “Top Women in Law” Award, The Daily Record, 201
Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers list, 2012-2021 in the field of Schools & Education
Presenter, “New York Imposes New Requirements to Combat Sexual Harassment,” Greater Rochester Area Payroll Association, June 21, 2018
Organizer and Presenter, “Can a Different Kind of Harassment and Discrimination Prevention Program Change Your Workplace?” Harter Secrest & Emery Labor and Employment Law Conference, April 26, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Sexual Harassment Complaints: What Can HR Learn from the Student Side?” College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA) Spring Conference, April 9, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Sexual Misconduct Investigations and Resolution: Legal and Best Practice Standards” series, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, NY, February 27, March 6, and May 8, 2018
Presenter, “The Headlines Continue: The Epidemic of High Profile Sexual Harassment Claims,” Harter Secrest & Emery, November 3, 2017
Organizer, Presenter and Co-Presenter, Harter Secrest & Emery’s Higher Education Conference “Title IX and Enough and Enough: A Mandate and a Microscope—Preparing You For Next Year,” August 3, 2017
Co-Presenter, “Title IX’s Impact on College Campuses,” Eyes on the Future Radio Show, Greater Rochester Enterprise, July 2017
Presenter, “Title IX: Training, Information Sharing, and Discussion,” Rochester Institute of Technology, April 11, 2017
Organizer and Presenter, “The Epidemic of High Profile Sexual Harassment Claims: Solutions and Strategies to Create a Working Environment Where Harassment Can’t Take Hold,” Harter Secrest & Emery’s Labor and Employment Law Conference, April 5, 2017
Co-Presenter, “Clery and VAWA—Title VII vs. Title IX: The Employment Side of Combatting Sexual Assault on College Campuses,” Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO) 2016 Annual Meeting, October 16-19, 2016
Co-Presenter, “Title VII or Title IX: What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter?” College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA) Annual Conference and Expo, September 25-27, 2016
Organizer, Presenter and Co-Presenter, Harter Secrest & Emery’s “Higher Education Institute: Avoiding Compliance Pitfalls Across Your Campus—From Admissions to the Title IX Office to the Board Room,” August 2, 2016. Presentations and training sessions included:
Terri has presented before the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO), the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA), Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), the SUNY Registrars Association (SUNYRA), the SUNY Field Administrators Consortium, the New York State Organization of Bursars and Business Administrators (NYSOBBA), Rochester Area Colleges (RAC), and the Upstate New York College Consortium (UNYCC).
Terri has been asked to speak at higher education conferences, on many college campuses, and in many workplaces.
Terri is a retired partner of the firm whose practice focused on labor, employment, human resources, and higher education law.
Higher Education
As the former chair of the firm’s Higher Education practice, Terri counseled colleges and universities on:
Insider’s Knowledge of the Higher Education Sector
Terri knows higher education institutions from the inside. She began her legal career at HSE as an associate in 1989 but left us in 1992 to explore opportunities in higher education. Before returning to the firm in 2000, Terri taught at Monroe Community College (Rochester, NY) and spent seven years at the State University of New York College at Brockport as a faculty member, academic administrator, Director of Affirmative Action, and Associate Director of Human Resources. As the Director of Affirmative Action, she worked directly with the President of the College and was responsible for ensuring the College’s compliance with certain labor and employment laws and policies. Her responsibilities also included key areas of student affairs, including Title IX and Section 504. In this role—more than 20 years ago and long before the Office for Civil Rights’ current focus on conducting discrimination investigations—Terri investigated complaints of discrimination made by students, faculty, and staff, including sexual harassment. (She also has conducted such investigations in the private sector, at the highest levels of corporate organizations.) Terri regularly conducts investigations of alleged discrimination, sexual harassment and misconduct.
Upon her return to HSE in 2000, Terri’s legal advice and guidance to our higher education clients called upon these on-the-ground, campus experiences. This experience was further deepened when Terri represented a client in connection with a high-profile Title IX investigation commenced by OCR and worked on that campus full-time for the 2014-2015 academic year as special counsel in its newly created Office of Title IX Programs and Compliance. During her time on campus, Terri worked on and was involved with every aspect of Title IX compliance, training, outreach, and programming, including:
Labor and Employment
Terri’s labor practice focused on counseling private employers, colleges, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities on the wide-ranging issues falling within the scope of human resources and labor and employment law, including:
Member and former Chair, Board of Trustees, The Aquinas Institute
Member, Board of Directors Executive Committee, State University of New York College at Brockport Foundation
Member, Make Music Day Rochester Committee
Former Board Member, Community Place of Greater Rochester
Former Member and Vice President, Board of Trustees, Geva Theatre Center
Former Member and Chair, Board of Trustees, Rochester Civic Garden Center
Former Member and Treasurer, Board of Trustees, Greece Montessori School
Former Board Member, Family Services of Rochester
Former Member, Zoning Board of Appeals, Town of Clarkson
Former Member, Environmental Commission, City of Rochester
Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for Labor Law – Management
Named by The Daily Record as one of Rochester’s Attorneys of the Year, 2016
Recipient, “Top Women in Law” Award, The Daily Record, 201
Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers list, 2012-2021 in the field of Schools & Education
Presenter, “New York Imposes New Requirements to Combat Sexual Harassment,” Greater Rochester Area Payroll Association, June 21, 2018
Organizer and Presenter, “Can a Different Kind of Harassment and Discrimination Prevention Program Change Your Workplace?” Harter Secrest & Emery Labor and Employment Law Conference, April 26, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Sexual Harassment Complaints: What Can HR Learn from the Student Side?” College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA) Spring Conference, April 9, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Sexual Misconduct Investigations and Resolution: Legal and Best Practice Standards” series, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, NY, February 27, March 6, and May 8, 2018
Presenter, “The Headlines Continue: The Epidemic of High Profile Sexual Harassment Claims,” Harter Secrest & Emery, November 3, 2017
Organizer, Presenter and Co-Presenter, Harter Secrest & Emery’s Higher Education Conference “Title IX and Enough and Enough: A Mandate and a Microscope—Preparing You For Next Year,” August 3, 2017
Co-Presenter, “Title IX’s Impact on College Campuses,” Eyes on the Future Radio Show, Greater Rochester Enterprise, July 2017
Presenter, “Title IX: Training, Information Sharing, and Discussion,” Rochester Institute of Technology, April 11, 2017
Organizer and Presenter, “The Epidemic of High Profile Sexual Harassment Claims: Solutions and Strategies to Create a Working Environment Where Harassment Can’t Take Hold,” Harter Secrest & Emery’s Labor and Employment Law Conference, April 5, 2017
Co-Presenter, “Clery and VAWA—Title VII vs. Title IX: The Employment Side of Combatting Sexual Assault on College Campuses,” Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO) 2016 Annual Meeting, October 16-19, 2016
Co-Presenter, “Title VII or Title IX: What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter?” College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA) Annual Conference and Expo, September 25-27, 2016
Organizer, Presenter and Co-Presenter, Harter Secrest & Emery’s “Higher Education Institute: Avoiding Compliance Pitfalls Across Your Campus—From Admissions to the Title IX Office to the Board Room,” August 2, 2016. Presentations and training sessions included:
Terri has presented before the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO), the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA), Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), the SUNY Registrars Association (SUNYRA), the SUNY Field Administrators Consortium, the New York State Organization of Bursars and Business Administrators (NYSOBBA), Rochester Area Colleges (RAC), and the Upstate New York College Consortium (UNYCC).
Terri has been asked to speak at higher education conferences, on many college campuses, and in many workplaces.
