Leadership Transition in the Office of Legal Affairs

Campus UpdateFaculty and Staff

Chancellor Block shared the following message with UCLA leadership and Legal Affairs staff.

Dear Colleagues:

I write to share the news that Vice Chancellor & Associate General Counsel Louise Nelson, who has led the UCLA Office of Legal Affairs since 2016, has made the decision to step down from her role. Ina Bryant, principal campus counsel since 2015, will assume leadership of the office on an interim basis while we conduct a search for our next permanent vice chancellor.

In her six years at UCLA, Nelson provided excellent legal counsel to UCLA’s leaders and built a strong team of attorneys and legal specialists to support all aspects of our university. Though her office had an exceptionally high volume of work these past few years, she and her team rose to the challenge, offering thoughtful and thorough legal guidance on many aspects of campus operations affected by the pandemic; playing critical roles in negotiating major purchases, sponsorships, contracts and settlements; supporting litigation; aiding UCLA Health in navigating personnel policy changes and other needs; and serving our community during a period of high demand for ombuds services.

Bryant, who will take over Nelson’s role on an interim basis, has served as UCLA’s primary transactional attorney for the past seven years. She has deep experience with university business matters including agreements governing educational and training programs, contracts and grants, copyrights and trademarks, technology transfer, sponsorship negotiations and more. Her broad expertise extends to other legal realms including campus policy updates, compliance and risk mitigation, real estate, land use, privacy and data security. She is also versed in critical emerging areas such as UCLA student-athletes’ Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rights. Prior to joining UCLA, Bryant served as legal counsel for the Walt Disney Company. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history at UCLA and her J.D. at Loyola Law School.

I am deeply appreciative of Louise’s work and counsel these past several years, and confident that the team she put in place will provide exemplary service to our university while we undergo a period of transition in the legal affairs office. Please join me in extending appreciation to both Louise for her service and to Ina for taking up this interim role.

Sincerely,