Barclay Damon announces Gabe Nugent has been selected to the role of senior vice president and general counsel for Syracuse University. Nugent previously served as deputy general counsel at the university and succeeds Dan French, partner and co-chair of the White Collar & Government Investigations Practice Area and the Higher Education Practice Area at Barclay Damon, who has returned to practicing law full time at Barclay Damon. In this new role, Nugent will depart from Barclay Damon.
As general counsel, Nugent will lead the Syracuse University Office of University Counsel (OUC). The OUC represents the university on all legal matters, including the provision of legal services and advice to the board of trustees, the chancellor, and all units and duly authorized representatives of the university.
During his 17-year tenure at Barclay Damon, Nugent has made countless administrative contributions, including serving alongside French as the co-chair of the White Collar & Government Investigations Practice Area since 2012, as the former managing director of the firm’s Syracuse office and a member of the Management Committee, and as leader of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group.
Nugent has been recognized by the US District Court for the Northern District of New York and the New York State Bar Association for his exceptional pro bono services, and he earned Chambers recognition and was selected to Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers Upstate New York for his outstanding client service. In 2023, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Gabe as the chairperson of the New York State Judicial Screening Committee for the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and as a member of the New York State Judicial Screening Committee.
Nugent said, “I am honored and excited to step into this role, though I certainly have big shoes to fill in the wake of Dan’s distinguished service.” He continued, “Although it is with great nostalgia that I depart from Barclay Damon, I know that I’m leaving the firm’s robust Higher Education Team in a very strong position to continue providing outstanding legal service to an already distinguished and growing list of higher education clients.”
Connie Cahill, Barclay Damon’s managing partner, said, “It is with great pride and sincerest congratulations that we share that Gabe will be starting this new role. We are so thankful to have worked alongside Gabe and wish him well in this next chapter of his career.”
Dan French, outgoing university general counsel who is returning to the full-time private practice of law at Barclay Damon, added, “It is gratifying to see Gabe, my longtime partner at Barclay Damon and my deputy general counsel at the university, succeed to my position. I am excited to watch him take the lead, although also nostalgic about our daily work together coming to an end.”
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