Kristen Thorsness Joins Bond’s Higher Education Practice

March 6, 2023

(Rochester, NY): Bond, Schoeneck & King announced the addition of Kristen J. Thorsness to its Rochester office as of counsel, concentrating on athletics regulation, specifically gender equity in athletics (Title IX).

Thorsness is an Olympic Gold Medalist (1984) as part of the first U.S. women's rowing team ever to win Olympic Gold. She is a former Division I collegiate rower and she won three World Championship silver medals as a member of the U.S. national rowing team and multiple U.S. national championships.

In addition to her traditional litigation and employment law work, Thorsness is an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an international body for sports-related disputes, and she has served on adjudicative panels for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Her lifelong experience as an athlete at all levels of competition, along with her experience working with national and international athletic bodies, allows her to provide practical guidance to universities, colleges and school districts navigating Title IX’s regulatory requirements for athletic programs.

According to Monica Barrett, co-chair of the firm’s higher education practice, “We are excited to have Kristen join the firm and bring her first-hand experience as an elite athlete to our higher ed clients. She understands, both as a lawyer and as a former collegiate athlete, the nuances of Title IX and gender equity.”

Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC is a law firm with 285 lawyers serving individuals, companies, nonprofits and public sector entities in a broad range of practice areas. Bond has 15 offices, including 10 in New York State, as well as in Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Kansas.