Shows
HRW Higher Ground33. Leading and Working with Grace: The Power of KindnessJohn discusses the importance and impact of leading with kindness, courtesy, and poise – grace.
2025-07-1127 minHRW Higher Ground32. Leadership Fatigue: Everybody Has a Breaking PointJohn discusses the impact of leadership fatigue on leader and team, strategies to reduce fatigue and minimize the fallout, and organizational values around leader and team wellness.
2025-07-0322 min
HRW Higher Ground31. The Leadership Mindset: 11 Traits That Set Great Leaders ApartWhat truly sets exceptional leaders apart? In this episode, John dives into 11 critical personality traits every leader must cultivate to inspire trust, lead with confidence, and drive results. Whether you're a seasoned executive or an emerging team lead, discover how to sharpen your leadership mindset and elevate your impact.
2025-06-1840 minHRW Higher Ground30. Ego, The Sleeping TigerJohn discusses the impact of a leader’s or teammate’s ego upon an objective, distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy ego, and discussing the ways a dangerous ego manifests itself. To frame the issue, John discusses the role ego played in the thinking of one of the most infamous spies in American history. Media Links: USA v. Robert Philip Hanssen: Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint, Arrest Warrant and Search Warrant".What made the American turncoat tick?The Inside Story: Robert Hanssen’s Psychiatrist Reveals Secrets of the KGB Super Spy
2023-10-0340 minHRW Higher Ground29. Return, and Revenge: What Leaders Need to Know About Revenge and Cancel MindsetHigher Ground is back! John talks about: A pause from all things digital, including social media and the show, and the decision to continue Higher Ground; The amazing NACUA 2023 Annual Conference; The psychology of revenge; and The impact of revenge and cancel mindset on team performance. Media Links: https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/celebrities-who-dont-use-social-mediahttps://www.dailydot.com/irl/doordash-wendys-no-tip-order-revenge/https://www.procon.org/headlines/is-cancel-culture-or-callout-culture-good-for-society/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/t-magazine/cancel-culture-history.htmlhttps://nypost.com/2023/08/22/jennifer-aniston-declares-she-is-so-over-cancel-culture/
2023-09-0648 minHRW Higher Ground28. The Way You Climb a Mountain MattersJohn reflects back on leadership and life perspective lessons learned after nearly two years of the pandemic and while we are still not out of the woods.
2021-12-2020 minHRW Higher Ground27. Don't Be Fooled w/ Melinda LatasJohn discusses big picture Clery Act compliance thinking and leadership with Melinda Latas, Director of Systemwide Clery and Campus Safety Compliance for the Cal State University system. Melinda has extensive knowledge and experience managing Clery compliance issues; has worked in student affairs; and holds a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, an M.A. in Higher Education Student Affairs from The Ohio State University, and a B.S. from Texas A&M. John and Melinda talk about managing Clery Act compliance efforts in a way that empowers campus professionals to have confidence and encourages th...
2021-12-1751 minHRW Higher Ground26. Drama is Deadly (Part 2)John discusses some psychological factors and indicators of unhealthy drama, and provides suggestions on strategies to mitigate the impact of unhealthy drama on your workplace, school, team, or project.
2021-12-1056 minHRW Higher Ground25. Drama is DeadlyDrama left unchecked in an organization can be lethal to survival of team, mission, individual, or all of those. John discusses the instinctive human drive toward drama and its dangerous impact on collaboration against the backdrop of literature, history, and Guns N Roses’ debut album Appetite for Destruction. WARNING: Although the episode contains no profanity, it does contain a gritty discussion about the addictive realities of drama through comparison to drug addiction.
2021-11-2447 minHRW Higher Ground24. In One Ear ft. Scott SchneiderJohn Graff and returning guest Scott Schneider kick off the season by catching up on music, the realities of trial work, stand up comedy, UFC, and maintaining one’s own identity in a demanding career. They also dive deep on why the recent U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a Taliban Twitter post, an over-reliance on social media, and a recent poll on the American political divide from the University of Virginia Center for Politics matter to higher education.
2021-10-081h 03
MCLE ThisWeek PodcastEmployee Rights: Social and Political Topics in the WorkplaceJanette A. Ekanem of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP and Ellen J. Messing of Messing, Rudavsky & Weliky, PC present an overview of the case law and statutes regarding employee rights in regards to speaking on social and political topics in the workplace in this podcast, excerpted from MCLE’s 3/2/2021 program, Where & How to Draw the Boundary Lines of Employee Free Speech, Improper Behavior & Political Expression. The full program is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here. Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more a...
2021-07-0813 minHRW Higher Ground23. SPARC: A Prevention Program for Higher Ed CommunitiesHRW's John Graff, Scott Roberts, and members of the SUNY ARRIVE Center team, Joseph Storch, Roma Shah, and Morgan Clifford, discuss the development and use of the Sexual and Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Response Course (SPARC). This program assists colleges and universities in training students in the prevention of sexual, interpersonal and related violence through interactive measures (such as providing QR codes around campus that open up to TikTok-like informational videos).Learn more about SUNY SPARC at https://system.suny.edu/sparc/ Learn more about The ARRIVE Center at https://www.suny.edu/arrive
2021-05-0339 minHRW Higher Ground22. How To Be An Adult ft. Julie Lythcott-HaimsLife for young adults was already complicated before the pandemic. Cell phones, tablets, video gaming systems, streaming videos, and helicopter – no, snowplow – parents removing character building adversity from the paths of their children. Then the pandemic hit, requiring an internal grit to work through it – the type of grit usually developed as a result of having to deal with the same adversity cleared by the snowplow. Julie Lythcott-Haims is a New York Times bestselling author and former dean of freshmen at Stanford University who joins John for a candid discussion as part of Higher Ground's year-long focus on parent...
2021-04-051h 02HRW Higher Ground21. It's Not the Setback, It's the Get BackIn our second episode of the year, John talks about the many difficult challenges facing higher ed leadership in 2021. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, social justice and political issues, and the pressure of social media watching it all. John comments on the critical necessity of leadership optimism tempered with realism, resilience, and risk taking focused on re-orienting toward the common goal of educating to promote positive growth in society. To illustrate the point, John discusses the Stockdale Paradox and describes the way a kind man, Kenneth, works to lead people toward a more positive and kinder influence through his optimism, res...
2021-02-1226 minHRW Higher Ground20. Vaccine Time…Or Is It?Happy New Year! John and Erinn welcome HRW colleagues Pete Moser, Kathleen Berney and Mark Macchi for an important discussion on COVID-19 vaccine rollout updates, the state of the law on mandatory vaccinations, and things employers absolutely need to be thinking about while deciding whether to mandate vaccines. Though this may be a higher ed podcast, the mandatory vaccine issue applies to every business and organization, so every employer should listen. And for those in law school thinking about working in the Title IX space, John takes a question from a listener and offers some on-the-spot career advice.
2021-01-1257 minHRW Higher Ground19. What is Wrong with People? ft. Melissa KornJohn, Erinn, and Scott welcome The Wall Street Journal reporter Melissa Korn, co-author of the book Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & the Making of the College Admissions ScandaI, for an in-depth look at how criminal intent, cracks in the college recruiting and admissions process, parenting styles, egos, and entitlement all intersected to create the perfect storm for a near perfect scam. During the year following news of the Varsity Blues scandal breaking, Melissa and Jennifer meticulously researched the evolution of the scheme and the people who participated in it. The authors’ thoughtful study of parental motives and insecurities results in a ca...
2020-12-111h 00HRW Higher Ground18. RAPID: A New Type of Clery TrainingJohn and Scott welcome Joe Storch and Elizabeth Brady for a discussion of SUNY’s innovative collaboration with Ramapo College to develop a highly efficient approach to training Clery Act campus security authorities. Joe and Elizabeth talk about the big contribution RAPID aims to make in the Clery compliance realm, it’s very low cost – FREE – and its customization features. We also talk about SUNY Student Conduct Institute (SCI) offerings, its rapid growth, and its impact on schools.Learn more about SUNY SCI at https://system.suny.edu/sci/
2020-12-0830 minHRW Higher Ground17. 9 Months Later, It's Now Thanksgiving. And Students Are Traveling...In this special pre-holiday season solo episode, John breaks down Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidance on Thanksgiving travel and gatherings in light of a surge in college and university student travel this week. John points out some behavioral realities as compared to CDC recommendations, and discusses what non-compliance while on holiday means for higher ed going forward. He also talks about the importance of assessing how higher ed handled the first wave of COVID during the spring, and the need for incorporating hard learned lessons into forward surge planning. John walks listeners through the framework for rea...
2020-11-2623 minHRW Higher Ground16. Higher Ed Chat with Sarah Brown from The Chronicle of Higher EducationJohn, and Scott welcome Sarah Brown, Senior Reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education (https://bit.ly/3nEw1gq ) for some decompression after a long, long year in higher ed world. A ton of good laughs, a little musical deep dive, and of course, some higher ed chat. Sarah talks about her lifelong connection to higher ed, how she landed on covering higher ed for The Chronicle, and some of the big issues facing the industry at the end of 2020. Sarah shares her incredible insight on student mental health and developmental challenges, the impact of student reliance on digital...
2020-11-191h 17HRW Higher Ground15. The Presidential Election & What It Really Means For Higher Ed with Political And PR Strategist John AshfordPolitical strategist and public relations expert John Ashford of The Hawthorn Group in Alexandria, Virginia joins John and Scott for some post-election analysis and discussion about how the election outcome will impact higher ed going forward. John Ashford helps us understand what Biden administration priorities for the education industry look like, where the traditional four-year school fits – or doesn’t fit – within those priorities, and political strategies schools need to be thinking about in the face of increasing strain on the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social concerns. John discusses the critical importance of studying what various political...
2020-11-1158 minHRW Higher Ground14. Special Ep, Part 2: Dept. of Ed Announcement Rescinding Clery GuidanceIn this second of a two-part episode, John breaks down the U.S. Department of Education’s new Clery Act compliance guidance. Recall that in Part 1, John discussed the context for the announcement – the developments leading up to the Department’s drastic reversal of its longstanding guidance. Referencing that context in Part 2, John analyzes the new guidance, discusses what it means, and suggests what schools might expect to see in the Clery compliance and auditing world in the near future. Department of Education Announcement Rescinding Clery Handbook (October 9, 2020) https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/100920RescissionReplace2016HandbookForCampusSafetySecurityReportingRecalibrating Regulation of Colleges and Unive...
2020-10-2742 minHRW Higher Ground13. Special Ep, Part 1: Dept. of Ed Announcement Rescinding Clery GuidanceOn October 9, 2020, the Department of Education released brief guidance rescinding the 2016 edition of its Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting a.k.a. the Clery Handbook. The Department’s announcement constitutes a drastic shift in its own interpretation of the role the Clery Handbook and Department guidance should play in Clery compliance and enforcement. In this first of a two-part episode, John Graff breaks down the October 9 announcement, a 2014 Senate hearing addressing the Department’s enforcement of its own guidance, the 2015 Recalibrating Regulation of Colleges and Universities, Report on the Task Force on Federal Regulation in Higher Education, two...
2020-10-161h 10HRW Higher Ground12. WHAAAAAT? AND WHY NOW?COVID-19, social and political tension, Department of Education Investigations, and a little more on Jerry Falwell. John Graff, Scott Schneider, and special guest Josh Nolan of Bricker & Eckler LLP break down recent news about Department of Education investigations into campus free speech, an Executive Order about diversity trainings of federal contractors, and a Department of Justice lawsuit about admissions practices. We also chat about the overwhelming flood of issues student affairs professionals have to confront in today’s world, and our great respect for those professionals and the mission they serve. And because we are about...
2020-10-151h 01MCLE ThisWeek PodcastUpdate on Non-Competition Agreements in MassachusettsRussell Beck, Judge Mitchell Kaplan, and Max Perlman provide an update on noncompetition agreements in Massachusetts in this excerpt from MCLE’s 12/6/2019 22nd Annual Employment Law Conference. The full conference is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here. Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.Speakers:Russell Beck, Esq., Beck Reed Riden LLP , BostonHon. Mitchell H. Kaplan, Massachusetts Superior Court, Business Litigation Session, BostonC. Max Perlman, Esq...
2020-10-0158 min
HRW Higher Ground11. Time for Higher LearningAt no time in U.S. history has higher ed faced so many simultaneous challenges as it does now. Race relations, social issues, the free speech debate, scandal, law enforcement challenges, Department of Education enforcement, a new Title IX regulation, and COVID-19. Higher education has been confronted with enterprise-wide threats due the coronavirus pandemic, which have become significantly more complex in light of the many other quickly evolving issues that test the resources of an institution. In this episode, Scott Schneider, joins me to discuss the complexity of higher ed’s COVID-19 crisis in light of other rapidly developing ev...
2020-09-241h 03
HRW Higher Ground10. Pending Title IX RegulationsHRW's John Graff sits down with fellow higher education attorneys Courtney Bullard (Institutional Compliance Solutions) and Scott Schneider (Husch Blackwell) for a dynamic discussion about the pending Title IX regulations.
2020-04-2050 min
HRW Higher Ground9. Instant Update: Coronavirus, Colleges, EmployersHRW's John Graff chats with Peter Moser, his colleague at HRW who specializes in employment law. They cover the impact of coronavirus on crisis management and employment law.Video podcast available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k1UbTRQlIk
2020-03-2053 min
HRW Higher Ground8. Coronavirus on Campus: Fears and FactsHRW attorney John Graff details the timeline of the spread of the coronavirus. What steps should colleges take to protect students? What can students expect next? John explains what sets this illness apart from others and separates the facts from the fear.References:The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscribers only):American Colleges Seek to Develop Coronavirus Response, Abroad and at HomeCoronavirus Is Prompting Alarm on American Campuses. Anti-Asian Discrimination Could Do More Harm.
2020-02-1039 min
HRW Higher Ground7. "American Hookup" Author Lisa Wade"American Hookup" author Lisa Wade joins John to talk about the new world order when it comes to hookup culture on college campuses.
2019-08-3034 min
HRW Higher Ground6. Scott Schneider and Joe StorchJohn is joined by Scott Schneider, partner at the law firm of Husch Blackwell, and Joe Storch, Associate Counsel in the SUNY Office of General Counsel and Chair of the Student Affairs Practice Group. The three of them discuss: Title IX, Clery Act, Department of Education enforcement, student affairs challenges, and more!
2019-07-2258 min
HRW Higher Ground5. Robb Jones | Effective Risk ManagementRobb Jones, Senior Vice President at United Educators and a titan in the higher education industry, joins the show for a discussion about how institutions can implement effective risk management, the founding of United Educators, and more.
2019-07-1542 min
HRW Higher Ground4. Higher Education To The Highest BidderJohn talks with former AUSA Christopher Tauro about the ongoing college-admissions scandal and the criminal implications. Chris is the managing partner of the Boston and Hartford offices of Lewis Brisbois (https://lewisbrisbois.com/). Please share and subscribe - People, keep on learning!
2019-05-0936 min
HRW Higher Ground3. Eric Kelderman Of The Chronicle Of Higher EducationEric Kelderman of The Chronicle Of Higher Education focuses on federal and state policy, the future of public higher education and accreditation. He joins John on the show to talk about the litany of issues dominating higher education in 2019, including campus free speech.
2019-04-1033 min
HRW Higher Ground2. Welcome To HRW Higher GroundThe inaugural episode of the HRW Higher Ground podcast with higher education attorney John Graff of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP. A former police officer, John covers a litany of issues including campus safety and the massive college admissions scandal. If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and share it!
2019-04-0556 min
HRW Higher Ground1. COMING SOON: Higher GroundCOMING SOON: Higher Ground with John Graff of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP.
2019-03-0500 min
The Legal ToolkitData Protection Best PracticesWith a network of data protection rules and regulations on the state and federal level, it becomes more and more difficult for businesses to keep up. On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney C. Max Perlman from the law firm of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP, to talk about those data security laws and regulations and their impact on businesses, including law firms. Jared and Max also discuss the federal requirements that local businesses should be aware of, to what extent the laws codify best practices and what to do if your...
2011-05-0926 min