Monterey College of Law

Monterey, CA

President and CEO

Monterey College of Law ("MCL"), a not-for-profit, California Accredited Law School ("CALS") founded in 1972 and today a system of four community-identified campuses and a hybrid online option serving the Northern and Central California region, seeks a new President and CEO (the "President"), following the announced July 2025 retirement of its current president after 20 years of exemplary service.

MCL provides one of the most robust alternative models to the kind of traditional legal education that necessitates residence near an ABA-approved campus and imposes a high financial burden on students for tuition and other costs of attendance. In doing so, MCL remains committed to the vision of its founding practitioners and judges. They believed it important to provide a high-quality legal education in a part-time evening program at a reasonable cost for working adults who did not have access to a traditional ABA-approved law school and who wanted to serve their local communities. More than 50 years later, MCL continues to expand access to legal services and justice by providing affordable, high-quality, community-based legal education at four California campuses located in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield and Santa Rosa-communities that are among the most significant areas of population growth in the state. MCL also offers one of the first California-accredited online hybrid JD programs, where students complete 85-90% of the curriculum in a combined synchronous/asynchronous online model.

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the President serves as chief executive officer of MCL and a non-voting member of the Board, managing and overseeing all operational, academic and financial matters, including the four on-site campus locations and the hybrid online degree programs. Direct reports include the Chief Academic Officer, the Chief Financial and Operating Officer and the Chief Development Officer. With a new senior leadership structure that delegates internal administrative authority to these direct reports, the new President will have the opportunity to advance the interests of MCL externally, sustaining community relationships that the outgoing president has nurtured over 20 years, while consolidating and improving the infrastructure that supports the MCL system. The new President will lead strategic planning that responds to future marketing challenges for legal education, a growing demand for lawyers to serve rural and regional communities and the integration of technology such as Artificial Intelligence in legal education and law practice. The new President will be supported by a devoted, seasoned and highly functional administrative staff that works well as a team and individually to meet designated goals and outcomes.

Qualifications: A JD degree is strongly preferred, but not required. Candidates must embrace MCL's commitment to teaching excellence, a practice-oriented curriculum, and an access, opportunity and community service mission. A transferable leadership record and relevant administrative experience are essential. Candidates should demonstrate the ability to manage strategically, cultivate professional and personal relationships, strengthen financial sustainability, facilitate program innovation and build MCL's capacity to serve a diverse, striving student population. Candidates should have fundraising aptitude, an informed interest in the future of legal education and ideas for nurturing high student and alumni institutional affinity. Familiarity with WSCUC or other accreditation protocols would be advantageous. Compensation will be commensurate with the relatively small scale of MCL's operations and its modest budget. The targeted salary is $200,000, making this presidency a rare service opportunity for an already well-established academic, senior legal practitioner, non-profit executive, successful entrepreneur, financier or senior manager to lead a law school while also living in or near Monterey or one of the branch campus communities, which are among the most scenic and diverse, demographically and economically, in California. Excellent employee benefits and generous flex and vacation time are additional perquisites.

Search committee review of candidate materials will begin immediately and continue until the appointment. Priority will be granted to applications received prior to Friday, January 31, 2025. A complete application will include a letter of interest, a curriculum vitae or resumé, and contact information for five professional references who can speak about the candidate's qualifications for this appointment. Named references will not be contacted without the candidate's prior consent. MCL encourages applications from candidates whose leadership and personal experience will enrich the diversity of faculty and staff.

Expressions of interest, applications, nominations and inquiries should be directed to MCL's search consultant, Mr. Chuck O'Boyle of C. V. O'Boyle, Jr., LLC, at .

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