Leigh Cole
Leigh Cole and Jeff Nolan Present at UVM Legal Issues Conference (October 2017)
Each fall the University of Vermont presents a popular national conference on legal issues in higher education, designed for education administrators. This year Leigh Cole and Jeff Nolan participated as speakers on topics including current legal trends in campus threat assessment, sexual assault-related litigation, and emotional support animals (Jeff) and immigration (Leigh).
Leigh Cole co-presents second NACUA Briefing on the Phasing-out of DACA
On September 6, 2017 Leigh Cole presented a telephone Briefing for the membership of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) regarding the announced phasing-out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. She co-presented with Steven Bloom, Director, Government Relations, of the American Council of Education. NACUA Briefings are a new service of NACUA offering timely education on breaking legal developments. Briefings are short, audio-only presentations that are free of charge for NACUA members. Ms. Cole also presented NACUA’s debut Briefing in March 2017 on President Trump’s Executive Orders on immigration, co-presenting with Terry Hartle, Senior Vice President, American Council on Education.
Leigh Cole serves as instructor for NACUA’s online course on Immigration
Leigh Cole once again is serving as an instructor for an online course for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Since 2011 Ms. Cole has co-instructed NACUA’s course “Immigration Basics for Colleges and Universities” with Michael Pfahl, Associate Counsel, Kent State University. NACUA’s online courses offer in-depth coverage of important issues in the practice of higher education law, featuring pre-recorded webinars narrated by leading higher education law experts, extensive course materials, self-assessments and instructor-led conference calls.
Leigh Cole elected to Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA)
Leigh Cole has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). NACUA is the premier organization in the field of higher education law and a primary source of information on legal developments facing colleges and universities.
Leigh Cole represents the firm at the annual meeting of the Employment Law Alliance in Shanghai
The Employment Law Alliance (ELA) held its 2017 annual meeting in Shanghai, bringing together representatives of ELA member firms from jurisdictions around the world. The ELA provides multi-state and multi-national companies seamless and cost-effective services worldwide. ELA membership is driven by quality – both as professionals and individuals. The ELA boasts more Chambers-ranked firms than any other law firm alliance. Firms are invited to become ELA members only after a rigorous due-diligence process, including consultation with experienced in-house counsel, judges, current members, and industry leaders. ELA leadership works hard to maintain a network of legal practitioners who are not just knowledgeable, but also genuinely dedicated to exceptional client service.
Best Lawyers Recognizes Twelve Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew Attorneys
Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew announces that twelve of its attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the The Best Lawyers in America® 2016 (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) in nineteen different practice areas. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
The practice areas and the attorney(s) listed in each area are as follows:
- Commercial Litigation: Ritchie E. Berger, Karen McAndrew
- Corporate Compliance Law: David Gurtman
- Corporate Governance Law: Brian Murphy
- Corporate Law: Jeffrey J. McMahan, Brian R. Murphy
- Education Law: Jeffrey J. Nolan, Karen McAndrew
- Employment Law – Management: Amy M. McLaughlin, Jeffrey J. Nolan, Karen McAndrew
- Immigration Law: Leigh Polk Cole
- Litigation – Construction: Karen McAndrew
- Litigation – Intellectual Property: Shapleigh Smith, Jr., Karen McAndrew
- Litigation – Labor & Employment: Amy M. McLaughlin
- Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants: Ritchie E. Berger
- Mergers & Acquisitions Law: Brian R. Murphy
- Non-Profit / Charities Law: Brian R. Murphy
- Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants: Ritchie E. Berger, Karen McAndrew
- Product Liability Litigation – Defendants: Shapleigh Smith, Jr.
- Real Estate Law: Austin D. Hart, Molly Langan
- Tax Law: Mark A. Langan
- Technology Law: Jeffrey J. McMahan
- Trusts and Estates: Mark A. Langan
Dinse Attorney Leigh Cole Joins California-Based Firm as Immigration Counsel
Leigh Cole, Esq., a director and shareholder at Vermont-based Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C. and Chair of the firm’s Immigration Group, also will serve as immigration counsel to Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP, a California-based employment law firm. “The Employment Law Alliance, and Hirschfeld Kraemer and Dinse in particular, have always been forward-thinking, innovative organizations. I am excited to extend my practice and synergistically combine Dinse’s resources with HK’s via this transcontinental partnership,” said Cole. “Strengthening ties between our member firms is a shared objective and one that will no doubt prove beneficial to clients on both sides of the country.”
Cole, chair of Dinse’s Immigration Group, has extensive experience with employment-based immigration matters and advises on immigration compliance, best practices, audits and self-audits, applications for immigration benefits and international student and scholar services for educational institutions. Her clients include general counsels, human resources directors, international education advisors, recruiters and others responsible for immigration compliance for institutions, organizations and businesses.
“This unique partnership with Leigh is made possible through the Employment Law Alliance and enables Hirschfeld Kraemer to provide top-drawer and seamless assistance to its clients with all aspects of immigration and global migration law,” said Stephen J. Hirschfeld, co-managing partner of Hirschfeld Kraemer. “As immigration law is a federal domain, the firm was able to be geographically agnostic in looking to bolster its resources in this area.” Hirschfeld added, “Given the close working relationship between our firms as both of us are members of the ELA, this strategic relationship seemed to be a natural fit for us.”
Active in the legal community, Cole frequently speaks before groups including the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), the Association of International Educators (NAFSA) and as part of the annual University of Vermont Legal Issues in Higher Education Conference. Notably, she has previously co-presented two courses on immigration law for NACUA. In addition to an active conference schedule, Cole is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and has served as editor of that organization’s Immigration and Nationality Law Handbook since 1999.
About Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C.
Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C. is a Vermont-based law firm with extensive experience in employment law and education law. Dinse is the exclusive Vermont member of the Employment Law Alliance. Dinse lawyers represent employers and human resource professionals with employment law issues for management, and colleges and universities, private secondary schools and public school systems in the legal issues affecting educational institutions. Dinse prepares a monthly newsletter, The Vermont Employment Law Letter, published for each state by M. Lee Smith Publishers. The firm serves as select counsel in Vermont to United Educators Risk Retention Group.
About Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP
Hirschfeld Kraemer is a California-based labor and employment firm with offices in Northern and Southern California and Reno, Nevada. It is the exclusive California and Northern Nevada member of the Employment Law Alliance – the world’s largest network of labor and employment lawyers. The firm’s clients include cities, counties and institutions of higher education in addition to Fortune 500 companies. In higher education alone, the firm represents more than 140 colleges and universities, both in the United States and abroad. The firm’s driving principle is to deliver practical, no-nonsense employment and labor counsel. On the Web at: www.HKemploymentlaw.com.
Leigh Cole Served as Faculty for Online Course by NACUA
Leigh recently served as faculty for a one-month online course by the National Association of College and University Attorney (NACUA) with colleague Michael Pfahl, Esq., Associate Counsel, Kent State University. The course was entitled “Immigration Basics for Colleges and Universities.” The course first was hosted by NACUA in 2011 and NACUA scheduled the course again with the same faculty this year.