Office of the University Counsel

Laurence Pendleton, J.D.
University Counsel

Laurence Pendleton serves as the University Counsel for Tennessee State University (TSU). In his role as the University Counsel, Mr. Pendleton provides legal services to the President and other members of the University community, including advising administrators on various legal issues, representation of the TSU in civil matters and administrative/enforcement proceedings, providing litigation support, reviewing, drafting and negotiating contracts and settlements, conducting training sessions, drafting and reviewing contracts, advising on real estate and other transactional matters, and drafting/reviewing University policies and procedures.  Mr. Pendleton also serves as a member of the President's executive leadership team and works closely and collaboratively with senior administrators, executive and administrative employees, faculty, staff, and various standing and ad hoc committees, including the University's Access and Diversity, Human Subjects and Conflict of Interest committees.

Prior to joining TSU, Mr. Pendleton served as an Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), where he acted as lead counsel to several institutions in the system and provided legal advice on institutional and system wide legal issues.

Prior to joining the TBR, Mr. Pendleton served for over ten years in the Office of General Counsel for the Colorado State University System, advising the governing board and administrators on a variety of legal issues, overseeing the CSU System's litigation matters, and acting as primary legal counsel to CSU-Pueblo.

Prior to joining the CSU System, Mr. Pendleton worked as a litigation attorney for five years in the Denver office of an international law firm, and served as an Assistant Attorney General in the education unit of the Colorado Attorney General's office.  He also served as an adjunct faculty member for five years at the University of Denver law school.

Mr. Pendleton is an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys.  He served on NACUA's Board of Directors from 2007-2010 and has served on numerous NACUA committees.  He is the author of "Academic Freedom and Political Diversity: A Campus Lawyer's Guide to Addressing and Managing Legal Issues Involving Expressions of Political and Religious Beliefs in the Classroom and Professional Disposition Requirements" (published in the NACUA Handbook for Lawyers New to Higher Education, second and third editions).  Mr. Pendleton has been a frequent speaker at NACUA conferences and workshops. He also was a speaker at the University of Vermont's 2007 Annual Conference on Legal Issues in Higher Education, where he spoke on diversity related legal topics.

Mr. Pendleton received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas, and was awarded his J.D. from the University of Iowa.