Kendyl is an associate in Cozen O'Connor’s Institutional Response Group, representing educational institutions, higher education, child-serving organizations, health care organizations, corporations, religious institutions, and not-for-profit organizations in connection with infrastructure, systems, policy, compliance, investigations, and governance.
Kendyl helps educational, religious, and other mission-driven institutions improve policies and procedures designed to prevent and respond to discrimination and harassment on the basis of protected characteristics, sexual and gender-based violence, retaliation, and other forms of conduct prohibited by Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, and the Clery Act. Kendyl has experience aiding universities in reviewing their Title VI and Title IX policies and procedures through external audits, conducting internal investigations, and providing informed recommendations to strengthen compliance programs and care for campus constituents.
Kendyl routinely aids institutions of higher education in responding to investigations by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, including those related to Title VI (discrimination and harassment based on race and national origin) and Title IX (sexual and gender-based discrimination and harassment). Kendyl has helped educational institutions build legally compliant Title IX and Title VI compliance programs, with a focus on responding to discrimination on the basis of national origin under evolving federal civil rights laws. She also provides training and education regarding the intersection between Title VI, academic freedom, and protected speech.
In response to sentinel events in the health care setting, such as suicide, unexpected death, or serious injury, Kendyl has aided her health care institutions and educational institutions in conducting root cause analyses for the Joint Commission and has conducted investigations and after-action reviews for use in improving policies and procedures and enhancing safety protocols.
Prior to joining the firm, Kendyl was an associate with an Am Law 100 firm based in London and Washington, D.C. There, she focused her practice on commercial matters, as well as Title IX, higher education matters, and white-collar investigations.
Kendyl earned her law degree cum laude from Cornell Law School and her undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University's Schreyer Honors College. While in law school, Kendyl was an associate Judicial Codes Counselor, representing students, faculty, and staff charged with violations of Title IX, the University Code of Conduct, and academic integrity codes. She was also an intern for the U.S. District Court Justice for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Hon. Judge Mark A. Kearney.