Executive Counsel to the President

Paul F. Occhiogrosso joined City College in 2005 and serves as Executive Counsel to the President.  As the College’s in-house legal counsel, he provides advice and counsel to the President, as well as all College administrators, including the Provost, Vice Presidents, Deans, Department Chairs, Directors, and other supervisors on a wide range of matters, including College governance; labor relations and employment; litigation; development and implementation of College policies; interpretation and application of University bylaws and policies; contracts; compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations; freedom of expression; students’ rights and responsibilities; and procedures applicable to faculty reappointment, tenure, and promotion.  As Legal Affairs Designee, Mr. Occhiogrosso manages the College’s litigation, in coordination with the offices of the New York State Attorney General and the University’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel.  As Labor Designee, he manages the College’s instructional staff labor relations with the Professional Staff Congress (PSC) and serves as the liaison with the office of the Vice Chancellor for Labor Relations.  Mr. Occhiogrosso also serves as the College’s Ethics Officer and Public Records Access Officer.

Prior to joining City College, Mr. Occhiogrosso served as Assistant General Counsel in the CUNY General Counsel’s Office from 1994 to 2005.  In that role, he represented the University in labor arbitrations and administrative proceedings, and he provided advice and counsel to CUNY’s colleges and central administration on a wide range of matters, including compliance with federal, state, and city anti-discrimination laws; interpretation and application of bylaws, governance plans, policies, and collective bargaining agreements; and students’ rights and responsibilities.

Mr. Occhiogrosso began his legal career as a litigator at the law firm now known as Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel LLP in New York, where he worked from 1988 to 1994.  His primary areas of practice included employment law, contractual disputes, securities litigation, and other complex commercial litigation.  

Mr. Occhiogrosso received his J.D. in 1988 from Columbia Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review.  Mr. Occhiogrosso graduated magna cum laude from New York University in February 1982.  From 1983 to 1985, he received New York University’s Developmental Fellowship to attend the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he studied in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, concentrating in Biblical Studies and the ancient Near East.

Mr. Occhiogrosso is admitted to practice before the Courts of New York State and the Federal District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.  He is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, for which he has served as a member of the Committee on Education and the Law.

Paul F. Occhiogrosso

Wille Administration Building
Room 200
160 Convent Ave.
New York, NY 10031
p: 212.650.8276
 

Last Updated: 01/11/2019 10:00