Elyse G. Crawford

Elyse has distinctive construction, real estate development and higher education experience, enabling her to guide complex institutional initiatives from planning and contracting through implementation and operation. She advises higher education institutions and their leaders on real estate development and construction projects, complex contracting and procurement issues, institutional mergers and relationships, and the regulatory and compliance frameworks that underpin organizational transformations. With nearly a decade of experience serving in the general counsel’s offices of both a large public research university and a nationally recognized private Catholic university, her skills encompass strategic direction on institutional operations, growth goals, stakeholder management and compliance landscapes in resolving multilayered issues and advancing large-scale university initiatives.

Real Estate and Construction

Elyse advises universities on real estate development, construction, facilities, infrastructure and capital projects. She has significant experience in drafting and negotiating contracts and advising on legal issues pertaining to the financial, timeline, operational and stakeholder goals for large-scale capital projects. Her counsel includes strategic input on project structure, contractor relationships, risk allocation and insurance requirements, as well as proactive guidance on resolving issues throughout the project lifecycle to avoid costly delays and disputes.

Contracting and Procurement

Elyse has advised on and negotiated a broad range of contracts supporting university operations including facilities, technology, data privacy and security, athletics, academic affiliations, libraries, nursing and health care, professional studies, career services, public safety, research and grants, student internship programs and other institutional functions. Her familiarity with state and federal procurement regulations ensures consistent compliance advice and effective administration of purchasing and contracting processes. Her counsel is tailored to a university’s procurement processes, risk framework, operational capabilities, budgetary constraints, insurance requirements, compliance obligations and institutional policies. Having led the development and implementation of a university-wide contract management system, she has a unique understanding of approaches for institutions to optimize and streamline their contracting practice.

Mergers, Acquisitions and Institutional Relationships

Elyse has experience addressing and anticipating the legal, regulatory and operational matters that arise in university mergers and institutional integration. During her tenure as general counsel at a nationally recognized Catholic university, she helped to lead its acquisition and integration of two private universities and handled key contracts and obligations, compliance considerations and the alignment and coordination of stakeholder objectives across the transaction.

Elyse also provides counsel on the challenges arising in higher education and health care institutional relationships. She possesses a sophisticated familiarity with the legal, regulatory and operational complexities of interconnected higher education, academic medicine, clinical work, research and health care organizations, where competing institutional interests must be balanced.