The Office of the General Counsel (the “Office”) manages the legal affairs of Dallas College, provides legal support for a broad range of issues, and offers advice, counsel and guidance to the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor and Dallas College leadership and staff at all Dallas College locations. The Office seeks to ensure that Dallas College and all of its stakeholders perform their core missions in accordance with the law, while helping the College react with agility to opportunities and risks. The Office does not advise or represent students or employees in their personal capacities.
The Office strives to provide timely and responsible legal advice in a proactive manner to minimize the College’s exposure to legal risks. The Office’s attorneys, as well as professional and administrative staff, provide day-to-day legal support for a myriad of legal issues, including but not limited to litigation, contracts, employment practices and compliance with state and federal laws.
The General Counsel heads the Office and serves as the chief legal advisor to the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor, and the Chancellor’s leadership team.
Robert C. Wendland
Robert (“Rob”) C. Wendland, 214-378-1703, serves as General Counsel and in that capacity is the chief legal advisor to the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor, and the Chancellor’s leadership team. Wendland oversees all College legal matters, including but not limited to, those involving complex business negotiations and contracts, real estate and land use matters, litigation, employment-related matters, governance, Information Technology and intellectual property and myriad other matters. In addition, the college’s offices of Public Safety and Security (“Dallas College Police”), Information Privacy and Security, Risk Management, and Internal Audit report to Wendland.
Wendland was licensed to practice law in Texas 1983 and has more than 40 years of experience in the practice of law. He spent more than thirty of those years practicing in private law firms, serving as a partner at three different Dallas-area law firms. A Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent rated attorney, Wendland focused his private practice in the areas of commercial litigation, real estate, land use and zoning, construction, school law and local government law, real estate construction, land use and zoning, condemnation, banking, insurance law, utility cooperatives and special districts, as well as general commercial and business law. Wendland is a graduate of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tricia Horatio
Tricia Horatio, 214-378-1707, is Deputy General Counsel for the college. Horatio provides general legal representation for the college, focusing her practice on policy development, employment-related matters and proceedings, contracts, employee benefits, and advising College departments on statutory, regulatory, and policy compliance. In addition, Horatio oversees the college’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, which is responsible for Title IX, ADA, and ADEA compliance, and serves as the principal legal partner for Academic Affairs and Human Resources.
Prior to joining Dallas College, Horatio worked in the Texas Legislature, where she worked on policy and legislation relating to higher education, immigration, finance, pensions, and energy. Horatio received her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and also holds an M.A. in from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. in from Duke University.
Rosalind Jeffers
Rosalind Jeffers, 214-378-1832, is the Associate General Counsel for Dallas College. Jeffers provides general legal representation for the college, focusing her practice on student affairs, elections, educational services, campus safety and security, risk management and open records/open government. In addition, Jeffers serves as the principal legal partner to Workforce and Advancement and Student Success.
Prior to joining Dallas College, Rosalind was the assistant dean for student affairs & director of the equal justice program at the Texas A&M University School of Law. Rosalind’s legal experience in Texas includes time as a prosecutor with the Kaufman County District Attorney’s Office and as an executive assistant city attorney with the City of Dallas. She also currently serves as an associate judge in Dallas County. Jeffers received her J.D. from the University of Baltimore Law School. She holds a B.A. in from Howard University.
Stephanie Neal
Stephanie Neal, 214-378-1701, is the Assistant General Counsel for Dallas College. Neal provides general legal representation for the College, focusing her practice on procurement and a variety of transactional matters, as well as intellectual property, facilities and construction, and information technology and privacy law concerns. In addition, Neal serves as the principal legal partner to Procurement, Facilities, and Marketing.
Prior to joining the college, Neal oversaw transactional matters for a local city, which included real estate, construction, procurement, and economic development matters. Stephanie’s experience also includes time as an associate judge, civil litigator, and prosecutor with the city of Dallas. Stephanie received her J.D. from St. Mary’s University and a B.A from Texas Tech University.
Natalie Williams
Natalie Williams, 214-378-1703, is the Interim Administrative Support to the Office of General Counsel. Williams is supporting the General Counsel team with general office management and development processes and internal/external sites for community/internal departmental reference, initial intake and correspondence to open record requests, and implementation of SOPs and new/requested initiatives of the department.
Before supporting the Office of General Counsel, Williams served as Executive Assistant and Project Lead to the Chancellor's Office and Executive Support Management on behalf of Administrative Director to the Chancellor, Chief of Staff and the Managing Directors of Administrative Support. Williams has years of excellent administrative experience in supporting executives/administrators since 2016 starting at Cedar Valley Campus. Williams earned the Supervision Certification with Dallas College as well as Professional Writing and Professional Etiquette Certifications from Saylor Academy and holds an Associate's of Liberal Arts from Los Medanos College. She is a member of the American Society of Administrative Professionals, International Association of Administrative Professionals, Executive Assistant Organization and an Advisory Board Member of DFW/Southwest Region Admin Awards.
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