Madelyn Wessel

Madelyn focuses her practice on the needs of institutions of higher education both private and public. Having served as the chief counsel at two major research institutions, Madelyn is skilled at navigating governance issues, state and federal compliance, administrative investigations, student and faculty misconduct matters, research integrity, international campus concerns, intellectual property, business transactions, government agreements, and institutional policy development.

Previously, Madelyn served as Associate University Counsel at the University of Virginia, where she had a broad practice including intellectual property law, FOIA, technology, libraries, student affairs, civil rights, constitutional law, and employment law. Prior to entering higher education, Madelyn served as Deputy and later Chief Deputy City Attorney for the City of Portland, Oregon and as an Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Opinions Division, Massachusetts Department of Justice.

For decades, Madelyn has been a highly active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA)—the primary professional organization for higher education lawyers—and was a former member of the Board of Directors for an at-large term from 2013-2016. She has authored dozens of papers and presentations for NACUA, EDUCAUSE, state bar associations, the ABA, and other scholarly and professional entities.