IRVINE : UCI Hires Counsel to the Chancellor

UC Irvine has hired a Chicago attorney to be the campus’s first legal counsel to the chancellor, university officials said.

Diane Fields Geocaris also becomes the first member of the University of California’s legal staff to practice at a UC campus instead of working from the system headquarters in Oakland, UCI spokeswoman Linda Granell said.

Geocaris came to UCI March 19 from the firm of Rudnick and Wolfe, where she was a partner specializing in commercial and real estate law. Her expertise is considered especially important because of UCI’s imminent plans for private research and development facilities, as well as commercial and private housing projects at the north end of campus.

She will report jointly to Chancellor Jack W. Peltason and the general counsel and will be responsible for legal questions involving patents, licenses, investments, employee relations and affirmative action. Her salary is $101,000.