Announcement: General Counsel’s Office

Dear members of the Emerson community,

I write to share the news that after more than six years of wise counsel to College leadership, Meredith Ainbinder, Vice President and General Counsel, will be leaving Emerson later this month to transition to the Chief of Staff role at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, beginning June 27.

As general counsel, Meredith has managed the legal affairs of the College during a particularly challenging and active period in which the institution experienced significant growth and persevered through a global pandemic. She has provided counsel and advice to the president, Board of Trustees, vice presidents and senior administrators, and has collaborated with outside counsel on several important matters. Meredith joined Emerson as deputy general counsel in 2016.

Prior to coming to Emerson, Meredith was a partner at an intellectual property law firm and the head of North and South America litigation for Osram Sylvania, a multi-national corporation. Long active in the legal community, Meredith has spent more than a decade on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, including serving as president. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, where she sits on the Membership and Members Services Committee and has held numerous leadership positions in the Boston Bar Association, currently serving on the Steering Committee of its College and University Law Section. She is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School.

The work Meredith has accomplished at Emerson has largely been conducted behind the scenes as she has managed several complex and delicate legal matters efficiently and with sensitivity. During her time in the General Counsel’s office, she has kept an open mind and clear vision that has helped the institution balance sometimes competing interests of the College with those of the people involved.

In my short time as interim president, Meredith has provided candid and thoughtful advice that has helped me navigate this new role, and I am grateful for her leadership.

Please join me in congratulating Meredith on her new position and wishing her well during the transition.

We are working to develop a succession plan for her office and will share more information when it’s available.

Sincerely,
William P. Gilligan
Interim President