Jason ("Jay") Canavan

Chief Counsel of the Wharton School, Associate General Counsel
Phone: (215) 573-3811
jay.canavan@ogc.upenn.edu

Jason ("Jay") Canavan joined Penn’s Office of General Counsel in January 2020 as a generalist attorney.  Mr. Canavan works closely with the Wharton School and its leadership on day-to-day matters, including issues relating to governance, finance, students / faculty, employment, intellectual property, gifts, grants, research, conflicts of interest, complex litigation management, governmental / law enforcement relations, tax, real estate, privacy and IT security, online programming, executive education, and general risk management. 

Mr. Canavan also supports the broader university with respect to its management of complex litigation, inquiries, and investigations.

Prior to joining Penn, Mr. Canavan was Associate University Counsel at Cornell University, where he was primary legal adviser on all of Cornell’s international activities (including institutional collaborations, joint degrees, foreign campuses, curriculum licensing, employment, litigation, real estate, and student/faculty issues).  He also served as the key point of legal advice for Cornell’s Office of University Investments, providing counsel on a wide variety of investment structures, agreements, and regulatory compliance.  Prior to his work at Cornell, Mr. Canavan held a variety of roles at UBS Investment Bank, most recently as Head of Legal (Americas) for M&A.  Following graduation from law school, Mr. Canavan was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (2007-2011), where he worked on a wide variety of corporate, sovereign, and non-profit corporate governance and securities law matters.

In addition to his role in Penn OGC, Mr. Canavan serves as Corporate Secretary to UPenn International (the subsidiary through which Penn conducts most of its international activities) and as Executive Director, General Manager, and Legal Representative of the Chinese entity that owns and operates the Penn-Wharton China Center.

Mr. Canavan graduated from Cornell University (B.A. in Government, German Studies, and Comparative Literature, magna cum laude, 2004), where he was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa.  He received his law degree from Columbia Law School (J.D., 2007), where he was named a James Kent Scholar and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.  He is admitted to practice in both New York and Pennsylvania, and is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), where he is an active member of the NACUANOTES Editorial Board.

Support Staff:

Kelly Sklodowski
Executive Assistant
Phone: (215) 746-5225
Fax: (215) 746-5301/5222
kelly.sklodowski@pennmedicine.upenn.edu  

Area of Practice:

• Wharton