UC Legal strengthens engagement and career growth through community and connection
February 24, 2026 •
Since UCOP’s inaugural Staff@Work Survey in August 2024, UCOP divisions and departments have continued to build on its insights — celebrating what’s working well and making meaningful progress toward a workplace where all staff experience belonging, community and connection.
In this second article in our Staff@Work series, we spotlight UC Legal, which has a unique divisional structure. In addition to staff at the Office of General Counsel (OGC) based at UCOP — which serves as the headquarters for UC Legal’s representation, advice and guidance — UC Legal includes legal specialists based at campuses and academic health centers throughout the UC system. This structure provides additional challenges and opportunities for fostering a rewarding staff experience.
Moving from good to great
UC Legal’s Staff@Work 2024 survey results showed an overall satisfaction of 83% — a strong outcome with room for growth. After reviewing and discussing results across various focus areas, OGC leaders and staff zeroed in on two key themes: sparking staff engagement and expanding career development and advancement opportunities. They included these initiatives as goals in UC Legal’s 2024 strategic plan to promote accountability and measure progress.
“UC Legal’s Staff@Work results highlighted the importance of engagement and career development for our team,” said General Counsel and Senior Vice President Charles Robinson. “While our survey results were limited to OGC-based staff, their sentiments resonated with colleagues throughout our division. We included goals to address this feedback in our strategic plan to promote a shared sense of purpose across our systemwide team. When our team feels connected to one another and sees a clear path for growth, our whole division benefits.”
Growing community through shared knowledge and experiences
With over 250 staff systemwide, staying connected can be challenging. UC Legal is addressing this by uniting colleagues for in-person and virtual gatherings, and through new knowledge-sharing and communication technologies. This includes:
- A Slack channel featuring dedicated channels for structured communication, informal chats and informal legal discussions
- A new bi-monthly division-wide newsletter, “In Brief,” which celebrates individual contributions and legal successes, helping staff feel more connected to the division’s work and one another
- A new UC Legal Knowledge Base that allows staff at all locations to access curated templates, advisories and other helpful resources
- Quarterly OGC all-hands meetings and bi-monthly systemwide all-hands meetings to discuss important systemwide initiatives and priorities
- Systemwide UC Legal Connect meetings that feature updates, speakers and team-building opportunities
- Post-Regents meetings to share key takeaways
- Opportunities to connect with Charlie — quarterly lunches with new employees and virtual meetups with campus-based colleagues
Staff also connect and build community through creative and social opportunities, as well as giving back. This includes sharing homemade treats, participating in book and movie clubs, and coming together to donate handmade items and baked goods for charitable cause fundraising efforts. In 2025, UC Legal raised $1,000 for the UC Davis student food pantry, $850 for the Center for Youth Development Through Law, and over $500 for the Postpartum Support Center of Marin County.
“It’s been exciting to see colleagues step up and shape these initiatives together,” said Associate Chief of Staff Epiphanie Gillette, who leads several of the division’s engagement efforts. “The conversations, the new Knowledge Base SharePoint site and even the bake sales are all ways of building community and ensuring everyone feels part of something bigger. It’s made a real difference in how we connect and learn from each other.”
Supporting professional and career development
Although UC Legal staff rated their satisfaction with career-advancement opportunities 3.65 out of 5 (“good”) — higher than the UCOP-wide average of 3.27 — the team has introduced new efforts to help staff explore and pursue career growth.
- Employee experience conversations: UC Legal piloted a two-year initiative to encourage managers and employees to participate in career growth discussions using the UC Experience Conversations program framework. Participant feedback will be used to shape 2026 programming.
- Professional development SharePoint site: UC Legal is collaborating with UCOP HR’s Learning and Development team to build a targeted hub for UC Legal-related career resources, including training, tools and resources.
- Rotational training: To address the survey insight that many employees want to grow within UCOP, the team is exploring how they might use rotational training opportunities to help staff gain skills and experience in new roles and functions.
UC Legal staff have demanding workloads, which can make volunteer-led initiatives difficult to sustain. Looking forward, UC Legal is focusing on maximizing existing resources to advance its Staff@Work-inspired goals.
Learn more about UCOP Staff@Work survey results
Your continued engagement – and that of your colleagues – reflects UCOP’s commitment to building a workplace that includes and serves us all. To learn more about our workplace climate as reported in the Staff@Work survey, check out the following resources:
Questions? Email general Staff@Work survey-related questions to staffatwork@ucop.edu. For more about UC Legal’s Staff@Work efforts, email Epiphanie.Gillette@ucop.edu.
Editor’s note: Learn more about UC Legal during a panel event on Feb. 27.
Tags: employee engagement, Staff@Work survey, UC Legal
