KATHLEEN A. RINEHART

KATHLEEN A. RINEHART
Higher Education Law
(414) 978-5333 / krinehart@whdlaw.com
EXPERIENCE PROFILE
Kathleen A. Rinehart is an attorney and leads the firm’s Education Law practice, which regularly
focuses on matters that affect the daily legal compliance concerns of colleges, universities and
K12 schools in Wisconsin and Illinois. Ms. Rinehart’s experience and practice also encompasses
the wide range of issues that affect and define the employer/employee relationship, including, for
example, investigations; hiring/firing; evaluations; open meetings/public records; contract
administration; labor negotiations, contract implementation and interpretation; policy
development and interpretation; and dispute resolution.
The effective and creative resolutions developed for our clients reflect a thorough understanding
of each client’s Mission and Vision; knowledge of the manner in which the law applies to
educational institutions, public and private sector clients; and a clear appreciation of the remedies
that will best serve the needs of those clients.
Ms. Rinehart currently serves as General Counsel to several colleges, universities and K12
schools. She has been a featured speaker at local, regional and national education seminars, and
served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University
Attorneys (NACUA) from 2005-2008. Ms. Rinehart also has been a featured speaker at
municipal, employment and human resources seminars and in-services. She currently also is
completing a post-graduate degree in dispute resolution, and will be teaching the course, Dispute
Resolution in Education, in Marquette University's graduate program in Dispute Resolution. A
focus of Ms. Rinehart's work as a professional practitioner in dispute resolution is the design of
effective dispute resolution systems for use in higher education and the workplace; conflict
coaching for campus and corporate leaders, and the effective management of conflict during pretenure
review. Ms. Rinehart’s law practice was preceded by a career as an educator and Master
Teacher at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, and as law clerk to Wisconsin Supreme
Court Justice (Ret.) Janine P. Geske.
On a daily basis, Ms. Rinehart, and the other dedicated attorneys who support this practice,
provide counsel, seminars and legal in-services regarding such education and business–related
issues as:

KATHLEEN A. RINEHART, continued
Experience Profile, continued
• Academic program closure
• Campus governance and Trustee issues
• Collective bargaining, contract implementation and interpretation
• Compliance with federal legislation, such as ADA, FMLA, HIPAA, Title IX, Title VII and
the ADEA
• Construction, real estate and environmental law
• Contract administration
• Contracts and performance
• Copyright and fair use
• Dispute resolution
• Effective risk management
• Effective supervision, hiring/firing, evaluation
• Employee hiring, performance, evaluation, discipline and separation
• Faculty reappointment, tenure and promotion
• First Amendment rights of students, faculty and staff
• Intellectual property rights
• Investigation and preparation of responses to discrimination and harassment complaints, filing
of position statements with state and federal agencies
• Open Meetings, Public Records

KATHLEEN A. RINEHART, continued
Experience Profile, continued
• Privacy rights, student records and FERPA
• School finance
• Shared governance
• Student access to programs, discipline and due process
• Succession planning, executive compensation, institutional audits and legal compliance
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Education
• Marquette University, Master's/Dispute Resolution (in process)
• Marquette University Law School, J.D.
• University of Chicago, M.A.T. in History
• Marquette University, B.A.
Admissions
• State Bar of Wisconsin
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• U.S. District Court, Eastern & Western Districts of Wisconsin
• U.S. Supreme Court
Professional Associations
• American Bar Association
• National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA): Member, Board of
Directors (2005-2008)
• State Bar of Wisconsin: Member, Board of Directors, Dispute Resolution Section (2008-
2011), Chair (2010-2011)
• United Educators: Legal Advisory Committee (2008-2011)
• Wisconsin School Attorneys Association, Inc.
Articles and Presentations
• Best Practices in Hiring and Evaluation, The Council of Independent Colleges 2011
Workshops for Department and Division Chairs (April 2011)
• HR Responses to Difficult Economic Times, NACUA CLE Workshop (March 2011)
• Using Dispute Resolution to Enhance One's Leadership Skills, Cardinal Stritch University
Leadership Center African-American Leadership Program (March 2011)

KATHLEEN A. RINEHART, continued
Articles and Presentations, continued
• Managing Toxic Campus Conduct: Legal and Strategic Imperatives, Magna Online
Seminar (January 2011)
• Dispute Resolution Tools in Academe: Effective Tools to Manage Campus Conflict,
Valencia Community College Conference on Legal Issues (January 2011)
• Supervisory Best Practices: Concepts and Checklists, Valencia Community College
Conference on Legal Issues (January 2011)
• Cyberbullying: How Do We Protect Our Staff, Wisconsin Association of School
Personnel Administrators (November 2010)
• The Importance of Strong Relationships When Dealing With Sticky Personnel Issues,
Wisconsin Association of Personnel Administrators (November 2010)
• Managing Difficult Employees in a Troubled and Very Wired World, Michigan
Universities Self-Insurance Corporation Risk Manager/General Counsel Annual
Workshop (October 2010)
• Toxic Employees in the Workplace: Managing Your "Frien-emies", NACUA Virtual
Seminar (September 2010)
• Developments in Employment Law: Social Media, New ADA Regulations and Pay Equity,
United Educators Telephone Roundtable (September 2010)
• Employee Separations: Best Practices to Ensure Legal Compliance, NACUA Online
Course (July 2010)
• Surviving an ADA Accessibility Audit: Best Practices for Policy Development, NACUA
50th Annual Conference (June 2010)
• Toxic Employees in the Workplace: Managing Your "Frien-emies", NACUA 50th
Annual Conference (June 2010)
• Managing Multiple Roles and Responsibilities, 2010 Council of Independent Colleges
Workshops for Department and Division Chairs (June 2010)
• Trends in Dispute Resolution Today and the Impact of the Changing Economy on the
ADR Profession: Discussion of Dispute Resolution from Multiple Perspectives,
Wisconsin Association of Mediators Emerging Issues in Dispute Resolution Conference
(April 2010)
• Furloughs: The New Normal to Address Economic Challenges on Campus,
NACUANOTE (March 2010)
• Dispute Resolution Tools to Manage and Resolve Conflict Between High Stakes
Employees, WHD Corporate Counsel Forum Series (February 2010)
• Human Resources Compliance Obligations, Part II: The Top Five in Non-EEO
Compliance, NACUA Compliance CLE (November 2009)
• Preventive Law for Challenging Times and Legal Fundamentals for Campus Leaders,
Council of Independent Colleges 37th Annual Institute for Chief Academic Officers

KATHLEEN A. RINEHART, continued
Articles and Presentations, continued
(November 2009)
• Meet the Faculty: Key Concepts and Concerns, NACUA 49th Annual Conference (June
2009)
• Issues Affecting Outside Counsel to Colleges & Universities, NACUA 49th Annual
Conference (June 2009)
• "I Feel Your Pain...": Reductions in Force and Furloughs – Effective Planning and
Implementation, NACUA 49th Annual Conference (June 2009)
• Mediation as a Viable Means to Resolve Retaliation Claims, State Bar of Wisconsin
Annual Convention (May 2009)
• The Anatomy of a Tenure Denial Claim: How Did We Get Here, Can We Win, and What
Can We Do to Ensure This Does Not Happen Again, NACUA CLE Workshop (March
2009)
• Tried and True Approaches to Settlement and Severance Agreements, NACUA 48th
Annual Conference (June 2008)
• Issues Affecting Outside Counsel to Colleges & Universities, NACUA 48th Annual
Conference (June 2008)
• Dispute Resolution Tools to Address Conflict Between "High Stakes" Employees, Pacific
Currents: Sound Perspectives on ADR Conference for the American Bar Association
(April 2008)
• This Too Shall Pass... Best Practices and Effective Dispute Resolution Tools to Manage
Faculty and Departmental Conflict, NACUA Employment Law on Campus: Compliance,
Conflict, Change and Challenges for College Counsel Program (March 2008)
• The Changing Landscape of Tenure: How to Effectively Manage the Current Challenges
Posed to Your Institution, ACE/N.A.P.A.H.E. Conference (February 2008)
• Higher Education's 9/11: Crisis Management – Lessons From the Tragedy at Virginia
Tech, University Business (December 2007)
• Institutionalizing ADR Principles in the Academic and Work Cultures of Universities, 7th
Annual ACR Conference (October 2007)
• The Nutty Professor: Faculty Issues of Mental Health and Mental Illness, NACUA 47th
Annual Conference (June 2007)
• Outside Legal Counsel as In-House Counsel – An attorney offers some strategic ideas for
institutions that don't have in-house legal counsel, University Business (May 2007)
• Don't "Break the Bank" – Best Practices in the Workplace to Preserve the Employer's
Assets, WHD Human Resources Law Seminar (October 2006)
• Effective Risk Management for the 2006-2007 Academic Year – A Counsel's Perspective,
WAICU Risk Management Workshop (August 2006)

KATHLEEN A. RINEHART, continued
Articles and Presentations, continued
• Are You Looking At Me Building a Functional and Effective Relationship With Your
Board, NACUA 46th Annual Conference (June 2006)
Teaching Positions
• Adjunct Faculty: "American Law and the Educational Institution," Marquette University,
Graduate School of Education
• Lecturer: "Dispute Resolution in Education," Marquette University, Graduate School of
Professional Studies