Lisa M. Gilford

Gilford prides herself on being a go-to lawyer for organizations facing their most challenging and significant issues.

She and her Skadden colleagues last year persuaded a state court judge to dismiss a class action by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student athletes. The potential class contended they were denied a high-quality education and directed to low-quality courses. Following extensive briefing and oral argument by Gilford, the court tossed the suit on the grounds of sovereign immunity, the statute of limitations, standing and merits inadequacies.

Gilford defended the dismissal in a round of contested briefing and at a January oral argument before a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Last month, UNC Chapel Hill won a unanimous affirmance. "We argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing to plead an educational malpractice claim, and the panel agreed," she said. Arnold v. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, COA16-573 (N.C. App., filed June 9, 2016).

She continues to represent the university as lead counsel in two related class actions by former student athletes. The cases center on the jurisdictional question of the school's relationship to the state. One case, regarding diversity policies in admissions, was filed by Students for Fair Admissions, an organization that filed similar claims against the University of Texas. In that case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, 14-981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the race-conscious admissions program at the Texas school is lawful under the Equal Protection Clause. The student advocacy group brought a companion lawsuit against Harvard alleging discrimination against Asians.

Gilford is on the board of California Women's Law Center and a former president of the National Association of Women Lawyers. She is a past recipient of DuPont's J. Michael Brown Award for her commitment to diversity, recruiting and mentoring in the legal profession.

A diversity award fits well with her defense of UNC Chapel Hill's admissions and class assignment practices.

— John Roemer