Attorneys

Stephen J. Owens

Special Outside Counsel to the President

Kansas State University has retained Husch Blackwell LLP to provide legal services to the university while a national search for a vice president of legal affairs and general counsel is conducted over the next several months. The firm is a nationally recognized leader in higher education law. Stephen Owens, senior counsel at the firm, will serve as special outside counsel to the president. As special counsel, Owens will be responsible for overseeing legal services provided by the firm to campuses and related entities of the university. Owens will also liaise with attorneys in the Office of General Counsel and other outside counsel. He will provide assistance and support to the president, cabinet and other senior leaders; attend cabinet meetings; assess and advise on the current structure, duties and positions housed in the general counsel office; and advise on the national search for the next vice president of legal affairs and general counsel, among other things. Owens joined Husch Blackwell in 2022 after 14 years as general counsel of the University of Missouri System. During his tenure at the University of Missouri, Owens oversaw a 20-person legal office and the implementation of solutions addressing an array of key areas.

Primary Practice Areas: Faculty and student issues, crisis management and crisis communications, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, campus safety and reporting and Title IX issues, athletic department operations, capital projects, litigation, intellectual property transfers and transactions, internal investigations, and universitywide governance issues, among a score of other vital areas of focus.

Blake Billings

Deputy General Counsel

Blake Billings has served K-State as Deputy General Counsel since 2021. As a career higher education attorney, Blake’s experience spans the domain of university legal issues—from research, student affairs, and intercollegiate athletics, to employment, compliance, contracting, and litigation defense. Before joining K-State, Blake served as an attorney for the Texas Tech University System and its component universities, including Texas Tech, two academic medical centers, and two comprehensive regional institutions. He began his career in private legal practice, where his clients included colleges, foundations, athletics conferences, government entities, non-profits, and public-private partnerships.

Blake received his Ph.D. in higher education from Texas Tech University. His doctoral and ongoing research focuses on university organizational behavior and the role and relationships of university attorneys. He received his J.D. from Southern Methodist University, where he served as Managing Editor of the SMU Law Review, and his B.B.A. in finance from Texas Christian University.

Primary Practice Areas : Office of Research; Risk & Compliance; Conflicts of Interest; Academic Collaborations; Controlled Corporations; certain Employee & Student matters; Accessibility & Accommodations; Threat Management; and Office of General Counsel Operations.

 

Jeff Blandford

Senior Associate General Counsel

Jeff Blandford has served K-State as Senior Associate General Counsel since December, 2023. Before joining K-State's legal team, Jeff spent 26 years in private practice in labor and employment and general civil litigation. Jeff's practice covers a wide array of legal areas for the University, including: labor and employment; litigation defense; administrative proceedings; contracts; student affairs; threat management; compliance; policy review; training; equity, nondiscrimination and Title VII; dispute resolution; and, expert legal advice key leadership stakeholders. Jeff received his J.D. from Georgia State University and his undergraduate degree in business administration from Furman University.

Primary Practice Areas: Labor and Employment; Litigation; Administrative Proceedings; HR, Benefits and Compensation Advice; Contracts; Equity, Nondiscrimination and Title VII.

 

Erin Sommer Good

Senior Associate General Counsel

Erin Good joined the Office of General Counsel in 2018. She earned her J.D. from Washburn University, where she graduated with Dean's Honors and served as Managing Editor of the Washburn Law Journal. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Kansas. Before joining the legal team at K-State, Erin spent five years in private practice with a litigation firm in Wichita. She also served as a research attorney for the Honorable Patrick McAnany with the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Primary Practice Areas : Student matters, including broad support for the Office of Student Life; Equity, Nondiscrimination & Title IX; Labor & Employment; and general support for matters unique to the College of Engineering.

 

Aaron J. Good

Associate General Counsel

Aaron Good joined the Office of General Counsel in 2019. He earned his J.D. from Washburn University, where he graduated with Dean's Honors and served as a Research Editor of the Washburn Law Journal. Aaron graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in history prior to attending law school. Before joining the legal team at K-State, Aaron spent over seven years in private practice with a litigation firm in Wichita.

Primary Practice Areas : Intercollegiate Athletics, Purchasing, Procurement & Contracting; Subpoenas; Real Estate, Facilities & Construction; Student Housing & Dining; and Open Records.

 

Office Staff

John Malabanan

Executive Assistant

 

Samantha Tiroch

Paralegal

Samantha joined the Office of General Counsel in February 2020. She attended Upper Iowa University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in accounting. She has over two years of legal experience working for the magistrate judge at Geary County District Court.

 

 

DISCLAIMER: The materials presented here are for general informational purposes only. Nothing contained within this site and related links may be construed as legal advice from the K-State Office of General Counsel. Laws, regulations and policies change frequently. Legal advice can be provided only in the course of an attorney-client relationship with reference to all of the facts of a specific situation. This information, therefore, must not be relied on as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney. If you have legal questions or need legal advice pertaining to University matters, please contact the Office of General Counsel directly.