Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Amy Foerster has joined the firm as a partner and co-chair of the Higher Education Practice Group, resident in the Harrisburg office. Ms. Foerster also is a member of the firm’s Trial and Dispute Resolution Practice Group.

Ms. Foerster joins the firm from Bucknell University, where she served as general counsel and chief of staff. As general counsel, she was responsible for all legal affairs of the university, served as parliamentarian for its board of trustees, and oversaw the institution’s risk management program. With her added chief of staff responsibilities, she worked closely with university president John Bravman to advance the university’s mission and strategic vision.

President Bravman said, “Amy is a deep and critical thinker and a superb analyst of even the most complex situations; I turn to her as a trusted adviser on every imaginable topic and rely on her in countless ways. She’s an outstanding writer and a compelling speaker, and she has an unsurpassed capacity for work. Although I will miss her counsel every day, I wish Amy all the best with this exciting opportunity.”

At Pepper Hamilton, Ms. Foerster will leverage her broad higher education experience, including her long-standing involvement in Title IX developments, to provide litigation and counseling services to colleges, universities and schools across the country.

“Throughout my career, I have always been impressed by the wide range of areas in which Pepper’s attorneys practice and the depth of their experience in doing so,” Ms. Foerster said. “When I decided to return to private practice, I knew Pepper’s national platform, and specifically its Higher Education Practice Group, would be the perfect fit. I’m incredibly excited to join this talented team.”

Ms. Foerster is a recognized thought leader in higher education legal circles and is an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). She previously served as an at-large member of NACUA’s board of directors and in 2012 received NACUA's First Decade Award, which recognizes individuals who have made a significantly innovative contribution to NACUA or provided outstanding service to the Association and to the practice of higher education law during their first 10 years of NACUA membership.

“Amy’s on-the-ground experience as a university general counsel at a highly respected and complex institution like Bucknell, combined with her litigation background, will be an invaluable resource to our higher education clients,” said Michael E. Baughman, co-chair of the firm’s Higher Education Practice Group. “Amy has in-depth knowledge of how higher education institutions work, and we are confident our clients will turn to her as a trusted adviser in their most important matters.”

Before joining Bucknell’s leadership team, Ms. Foerster was a partner at Saul Ewing LLP, where she co-chaired the firm’s higher education group. She previously served as a senior deputy attorney general with the Civil Litigation Section of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and was an assistant counsel with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Chief Counsel, where she was primary counsel to the Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education.