Jane Booth Named General Counsel

Jane Booth Named General Counsel

March 25, 2009

I am pleased to announce that Jane E. Booth, who has been the University's Interim General Counsel, has accepted the position of General Counsel, effective immediately.   As many of you undoubtedly know, Jane has done a superb job over recent months following Libby Keefer's departure.  After an extensive search involving many talented candidates, it became clear that Columbia would be best served by having Jane assume official leadership of the Office of General Counsel, which provides advice and counsel on the broad spectrum of legal issues facing the University. 

A 1976 graduate of Columbia Law School, Jane received her B.A. in History from Fordham in 1967 and an M.A. in History from the University of Toronto in 1968.  She began her career as a clerk to Federal Judge Leonard Sand in the Southern District of New York.  Jane returned to the University in 2002 as Associate General Counsel, bringing with her a wealth of legal and government experience, including service as an Assistant United States Attorney; Chief of the Civil Division with the United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York; Director of the civil appellate unit of the Legal Aid Society; as well as Associate General Counsel for Shearson Lehman Hutton. 

Jane has been an active and engaged alumnus of the Law School, having served on its Board of Visitors from 1993 to 2001.  She has also been an adjunct faculty member at both Fordham and Brooklyn law schools.

Please join me in congratulating Jane on this well-deserved promotion.   We look forward to continuing to work with her for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Lee C.  Bollinger
President