Thomas Dorer is a Principal in the Hartford, Connecticut, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. His practice focuses on representing colleges and universities in student and academic affairs and in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling. Mr. Dorer serves as co-lead of Jackson Lewis’ Higher Education Industry Group.
Before arriving at Jackson Lewis, Mr. Dorer served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at the University of Hartford, where he was responsible for the full scope of legal issues impacting higher education, including employment law, student and academic affairs, regulatory compliance, Title IX, intercollegiate athletics, risk management, privacy law and corporate governance. As a member of the University President’s senior management team, Mr. Dorer provided leadership in policy formation and consensus-building on a range of issues critical to the University mission.
Prior to joining the University of Hartford, Mr. Dorer served as general counsel at West Virginia University (WVU). At WVU, he played a lead role in situation management, external and governmental relations and policy development, and advised the administration, board and faculty on a wide range of legal matters, such as employment law, student and academic affairs, public record and open meeting laws, constitutional law, athletics and legislative analysis. Mr. Dorer was previously an associate counsel for the University of Massachusetts, an associate attorney at Dow, Lohnes & Albertson in Washington, DC and a law clerk to the Hon. Anne E. Thompson, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Before attending law school, Mr. Dorer served in university administration at Brown University and Ohio University.
An active volunteer and current Board member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, Mr. Dorer regularly presents at national and regional conferences on topics such as legal ethics, risk management and disability law.
