The Office of General Counsel is composed of five (5) attorneys and two (2) support staff members.

Mary E. Kennard, Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary
Bethany J. Bridgham, Senior Associate General Counsel
Hisham Khalid, Associate General Counsel
Thi Nguyen-Southern, Associate General Counsel
Justin Perillo, Assistant General Counsel
Minsun Lee, Paralegal/Law Office Manager
Sara Haider, Law Fellow

In addition, the General Counsel appoints outside law firms to assist the in-house staff and represent the institution in specialized litigation.

Legal Expertise

Attorneys within the Office of General Counsel are generalists. In addition, each attorney in the Office of General Counsel has a particular area of legal expertise. (Note: the District of Columbia Bar does not certify specialty areas).

Each attorney within the Office of General Counsel has primary responsibility for answering legal questions for specific units and departments at American University. Please refer to the list.