Chief Campus Counsel

Seth F. Gilbertson is chief campus counsel of the University at Buffalo’s Office of General Counsel. A leader in the field of higher education law, Gilbertson is widely regarded as an expert in areas including international programs, disability law and the developing law of artificial intelligence.

Prior to this role, Gilbertson was a partner at the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King, where he served as the deputy chair of the firm’s Higher Education Group, focusing primarily on student and employment matters for numerous higher education institutions, including several R1/AAU universities.

From 2007 to 2022, Gilbertson worked for the SUNY Office of General Counsel, where he rose from assistant counsel to associate counsel to senior counsel. During his tenure with SUNY, he amassed wide-ranging expertise in higher education law, serving as the labor and student affairs counsel for UB and SUNY’s other Western New York campuses. Handling virtually every type of legal matter facing major public research universities, he advised and represented SUNY and its campuses on issues ranging from complex transactional ventures and administrative hearings/investigations to regulatory and policy guidance.

Gilbertson has a BA from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan and a JD from Albany Law School, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the Albany Law Review.

He is active in the New York State Bar Association and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.