Kim Taylor appointed Vice President and General Counsel

“Kim brings extensive legal expertise and senior leadership experience to Duke, including ten years of service in her current role as Vice President and General Counsel at the University of Chicago,” said President Price. “I look forward to her sound legal advice as we continue to navigate an ever-changing legal landscape as this century’s leading university.”

As Vice President and General Counsel, Taylor will serve as the University’s chief legal advisor. She will report to President Price and, as a member of the President’s Cabinet, will have overall responsibility for the vision, leadership and implementation of the University’s legal strategy.

Taylor will also oversee a dedicated team of legal and administrative professionals responsible for a variety of legal matters, including student and employment issues, health law, research issues, tax-exempt organizations, athletics, corporate affairs, and litigation coordination for the university.

“I am thrilled to join President Price’s leadership team and become a member of the Duke community. I am also honored and humbled to succeed Pam Bernard as General Counsel,” Taylor said.

Taylor has served as Vice President and General Counsel of the University of Chicago since August 2014. In this role, she represented all of the University’s units on legal matters and was a member of the President’s Executive Cabinet, where she advised the President, the Executive Team, and the 55-member Board of Trustees.

In Chicago, Taylor demonstrated leadership on the challenges facing large global educational institutions, addressing issues such as corporate partnerships, privacy and data management, corporate governance, federally funded research, conflicts of interest, government investigations, regulation and compliance, and intellectual property issues.

She handled legal issues related to the University’s contract activities with two major Department of Energy laboratories, Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab. She also advised the University’s international offices on legal issues they faced around the world.

Taylor was also responsible for the Department of Safety and Security, which includes the University of Chicago Police Department with over 100 police officers.

Taylor is a leader in promoting diversity and inclusion in Chicago’s hiring process and was recognized with the university’s John Rogers Jr. Business Diversity Impact Award for her efforts.

Before coming to the University of Chicago, Taylor was an equity partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis for 18 years. She was also a partner at the Massachusetts law firm Hilton & Bishop from 2012 to 2014.

Taylor received her BA in history from the University of California, Berkeley and her JD with honors from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.