July 8, 2024
Husch Blackwell hired and Owens appointed special outside counsel
Submitted by Division of Communications and Marketing
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. He will begin his duties on July 23.
"Mr. Owens has so much experience in higher education and possesses a deep understanding of the intricate and emerging situations that we encounter at K-State," said President Richard Linton. "Steve's wealth of personal experience with institutions will be instrumental in guiding us through this period of transition."
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, including 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. He has served as an officer and two-term director of the 5,000-member National Association of College and University Attorneys.
Owens holds a law degree from Wake Forest and a bachelor's degree in public administration from the University of Missouri.