Alumni Spotlight - Kansas City Office
Lindsay A. Chapman
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Describe your history with Husch Blackwell.
I was a Labor & Employment associate at [Husch Blackwell predecessor firm] Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek’s Milwaukee office from 2007-2010, where I was lucky enough to office between David Hertel and Bill Hughes and had the best legal assistant of all time, Kathy O’Donnell. I left WHD to go in-house at my alma mater, Kansas State University, and then joined the Kansas City office as part of the Husch Blackwell Higher Education Team in 2016, the very day that HB and WHD combined. In July 2018, I accepted my current role as general counsel for the University of Central Missouri (UCM).
Describe your current role/practice outside of Husch Blackwell.
As general counsel, I report to the university’s Board of Governors and serve on the President’s Council. The General Counsel team represents the university and anyone acting on its behalf, giving legal advice with a focus on preventive law. We also provide vigorous representation of the university in matters that enter litigation or other dispute resolution processes, select and manage outside counsel (occasionally HB!), handle insurance and risk management issues, and play an active role in policy development and coordination. In addition to the Office of General Counsel, UCM’s offices of Environmental Health and Safety and Accessibility Services fall under my oversight.
Share any interesting and emerging trends that you’re seeing in your industry.
Students and employers are looking for education and credentialing options outside of, or in addition to, the quintessential four-year bachelor’s, two-year master’s, and full-time doctoral programs. Higher ed is rapidly evolving to meet the demands to unbundle educational programing and offer stackable credentials or personalized timelines with accessibility that fits the students’ circumstances and employers’ needs around upskilling and reskilling.
Are there Husch Blackwell attorneys/staff with whom you’re still in touch? If so, who, and how are you still connected?
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I continue to learn from and lean on HB’s higher education attorneys across the country. Outside of that incredible team, I’ve also maintained friendships with many of my former Milwaukee colleagues, meeting up when we happen to be in the same city. Shortly after the Milwaukee team moved to their impressive new digs, I was passing through on my way to Door County, and Rebecca Mitich, Ann Maher, and fellow firm alum Nikki Renouard met me for lunch at Café Benelux. I certainly miss Milwaukee.
Tell us about your typical weekend.
I’m a creature of habit, so if I’m not at an out-of-town soccer tournament for my kids, my weekends typically look the same. Friday night is usually a UCM event with my faculty member husband; one of the best perks of working for a university are the many low- or no-cost cultural activities. Saturdays involve a few hours of work-work and then housework and chauffeuring my boys around (I can’t wait until they can drive!). I’m very protective of my Sundays, preferring to spend after-church time outside with my dogs, hiking, gardening, or just reading on my porch.