In less than a week, a Belmont woman will act as the first in-house general counsel for Bentley College, representing the school on all legal issues.
Judith Malone, an attorney with a background of representing higher education cases will begin her job March 31.
"It's such an exciting time to be in a place like Bentley with its focus on business and leadership," she said yesterday. "I think it's really positioned to deal with some of the issues not only confronting students but society."
Malone was a partner in the national law firm Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP. She joined the firm in 1985 and practiced in the areas of labor and employment law and litigation.
"I came from a private practice. I spent much of the last 23 years working in higher education (cases) for a variety of colleges and universities," she said. "I've worked both for institutions like Bentley that haven't had an in-house counsel as well as ones (that have)."
Malone said she believes there's a growing trend in colleges and universities in hiring general counsels.
"It allows institutions to respond more quickly to issues," she said. "I think it makes a lot of sense from a business perspective ... when I saw the posting for Bentley, it sounded like such a exciting opportunity to do that."
A mother of three children, Malone lives with her husband in Belmont. She said it's an exciting time to be involved at Bentley College with the upcoming inauguration of the college's seventh president, Gloria Cordes Larson on Friday.
"(Larson's) got a really great energy and enthusiasm and it's exciting to be a part of that vision for Bentley," she said.
Larson welcomed Malone to the college.
"She is highly regarded as a leader in employment law and has successfully counseled many clients in higher education. We are fortunate to have her join our leadership team," Larson said in a statement.
Malone was named the leading Massachusetts lawyer in employment from 2002 to 2007 by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
Prior to joining Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, Malone was a teaching fellow at Boston College Law School from 1983 to1984.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.
