Professional Staff

David T. Lambeth III, Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs, Risk and Compliance and General Counsel, joined the University in August 2026.  Prior to that, David spent over 9 years working at UNC Chapel Hill in a variety of progressively more senior legal, compliance and business roles, culminating as Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Governance Officer, where he led all governance functions for the institution’s Board of Trustees and other affiliated boards and committees, oversaw compliance with North Carolina’s open government and transparency laws, and counseled senior leadership on a variety of high-profile legal and policy matters.  David’s experience at UNC Chapel Hill also included time as the Senior Compliance Advisor for the North Carolina Collaboratory, Director of Strategic Research and Compliance, and Associate and Assistant University Counsel.  His experience ranges from complex litigation, to counseling on governance, government affairs, regulatory compliance, and negotiation of sophisticated transactions.  Prior to working at UNC, David spent time in private practice litigating complex construction disputes.  

A lifelong North Carolinian, David holds a J.D. from UNC School of Law and a B.A. in History from UNC Chapel Hill.  He is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, in a past president of the 18^th Judicial District Bar, and has served on the Standing Committee for the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism.

David’s email address is dtlambeth@ncat.edu.

Sheena J. Cobrand, Associate Vice Chancellor and Deputy General Counsel, joined the Office of Legal Affairs as Deputy General Counsel in April 2020. Immediately before joining the office, Sheena was an attorney with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security (DES). Her representation included judicial review proceedings, injunction matters, employment grievances, discrimination claims, and confidentiality matters. As DES’s Rulemaking Coordinator, Sheena drafted and oversaw the adoption of more than 100 rules in the North Carolina Administrative Code. She also led a multi-work unit team that brought DES into compliance with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL) second-level appeal standards after more than 30 years of monthly noncompliance. The process changes implemented have allowed DES to remain compliant since 2014.

Sheena has litigated hundreds of cases including employment, unemployment insurance benefits and tax, dependency, termination of parental rights, and criminal matters. She also presided over and participated in hundreds of administrative hearings.

Sheena is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law where she was a member and Articles and Notes Editor for the Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law. She also earned a journalism degree from Florida A&M University. Sheena is a North Carolina-certified public manager and is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in North Carolina. She is also admitted to the Florida Bar and State Bar of Tennessee.

Sheena’s email address is sjcobrand@ncat.edu.

Sean C. Walker, Associate General Counsel, joined the Office of Legal Affairs as Associate General Counsel in September 2023.  Prior to moving to the Higher Education sector, Sean spent twenty-six years engaged in private practice in both civil litigation and transactional law while serving as outside counsel to a private college, public school system, government bodies, banking institutions and corporate entities.

Sean graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994, earning the degree of Bachelor of Arts in History with Honors and Distinction, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.  He received his Juris Doctor degree from Campbell University in 1997.  Sean is admitted to practice in North Carolina and in the federal courts of North Carolina.

Sean’s email address is scwalker1@ncat.edu.