Tamara J. Britt is the Vice President and General Counsel at Teachers College, Columbia University (TC)
In her current role at TC, Ms. Britt reports directly to the President, the General Counsel is the chief legal officer of TC and is a key member of the President’s Cabinet, contributing to the resolution of many of the most important issues that affect TC. She also provides direct advice and counsel to the Board of Trustees on legal issues, governance, and related topics. Ms. Britt manages the Office of the General Counsel and provides day-to-day legal counsel on issues, policies, technology, compliance, contracts, transactions, claims, litigations, proceedings, and risks that concern TC, the Trustees, President, Vice Presidents, other senior leaders, administrators, faculty, and staff.
In addition, Ms. Britt is an important convener for and implementer of policies that ensure the TC’s deep commitment to its embedded values of equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect, and accountability are honored throughout the campus.
She formerly served as VP, GC, and Chief of Staff at Manhattan College (MC). In her former role at MC, Ms. Britt was responsible for providing strategic guidance and advice on a comprehensive range of legal, policy, procedural, operational, governmental relations, and compliance issues related to the overall management and operation of the College.
Ms. Britt is a former associate general counsel at Rutgers University and counsel to the RU Foundation. Prior to assuming the Rutgers position, Ms. Britt was a practicing attorney with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP where she had responsibility for a broad range of matters, including work with multinational corporations on regulatory, governance, compliance, bankruptcy, and white-collar defense issues.
Ms. Britt has co-authored several articles: Guide to Human Research Subject Protections Laws in West Africa, published in the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics; At the Border, Your Laptop is Wide-Open, published in The National Law Journal; and Why Financial Statements Matter: Enforcement and Litigation Implications, published in The Banking Law Journal. Ms. Britt was an adjunct professor at Rutgers School of Law (Higher Education Law) and Manhattan College where she taught Professional Ethics (MBA program). Ms. Britt is a former Trustee of the New Jersey Bar Foundation, LaSalle Academy, a current trustee of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, and a member of the Alumni Advisory Council of Cleary Gottlieb.
Ms. Britt received her B.A. from Hampton University; an M.P.A. from George Washington University; and a J.D. from Rutgers University, where she was an editor of the Rutgers Law Review and an Eagleton Institute of Politics Fellow.