C. Edwin Baker Lecture in Liberty, Democracy, and Equality - Fall 2023

10-26-2023
Fitzsimmons Event Hall
WVU College of Law

Guest Lecturer - Michelle Shannon

Michelle Shanahan is an attorney with over three decades of experience representing media, technology, and nonprofit organizations. She has expertise in structuring, negotiating, and drafting complex commercial agreements; content licensing; nonprofit governance; digital privacy; technology law; copyright law; communications law; and the broad variety of legal issues arising in a media organization.

Michelle worked for more than 25 years as an attorney for National Public Radio (NPR), retiring in 2022 as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary, as well as Secretary to the NPR Foundation Board of Trustees. She served as Acting Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of NPR from November 2020 through February 2021.

Before joining NPR, Michelle was an associate in the communications group at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson (now HoganLovells), representing broadcasters, cable operators, satellite providers and other communications companies. She began her career as an associate at the communications law firm of Cohn & Marks in Washington, DC.

Michelle received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Villanova University, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.