The Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University ’s School of Hotel Administration and the Cornell Law School recently sponsored the fourth annual roundtable on legal issues in the hospitality industry.

Participants included counsel from lodging and restaurant companies, members of private-practice law firms, professors in labor and employment law from leading law schools and universities, as well as corporate partners of the Center.

Topics addressed included: Mixed Motive vs. Pretext - Do the jury instructions matter?; Appearance Standards in the Hospitality Industry; Arbitration versus Litigation - What do we know, and what should we measure?; and HERE Organization and Negotiations.

“We continue to be very pleased with the success of the legal roundtable in building synergistic relationships between leaders in industry and academia,” said Cornell Hotel School Associate Professor David Sherwyn, who has chaired the event since its inception in 2002. “Our interactive format allows these distinguished participants to engage in forthright debate around timely issues important to both educators and practitioners.”

Alyse Jacobson, vice president & associate general counsel, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., served as a discussion leader in the segment addressing appearance standards in the hospitality industry.  “I find the roundtable useful because it allows me the opportunity to speak with my industry colleagues regarding employment law best practices in a non-competitive environment,” Jacobson said.

The School’s Center for Hospitality Research sponsors several roundtables each year on varied subjects such as human resources, law, design and information technology. For more information about sponsoring or participating in an event, contact Joe Strodel, Jr., the Center managing director, at 607.255.4646, or js343@cornell.edu