Stephen Tuttle, JD

Stephen Tuttle is general counsel and secretary of the college, serving as FIT’s chief legal officer and as a member of the President’s Cabinet.

Before joining FIT, Tuttle was senior vice president and chief legal officer for operations at Forest City Ratner Companies, the regional subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, a publicly traded real estate development company with more than $9 billion in diversified assets. His responsibilities included managing a team of professionals that provided legal support on all matters related to the ownership and operation of more than 30 commercial properties in the New York metropolitan area, including office buildings, shopping centers, residential developments, and hotels. In addition, he provided counsel on a broad range of general corporate matters and initiatives. He was also the company's senior legal counsel, providing services to several subsidiary service companies and support departments, including information technologies and human resources.

Previously, Tuttle’s career included more than 12 years of corporate and investment-related in-house services to the New York Life Insurance Company. As director and associate general counsel, he provided legal support to the company's financial investment subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management Company. He also served as senior legal counsel to the company's corporate services and facilities departments. Special projects included his role as counsel in connection with the historic landmark designation of the New York Life Building, at 51 Madison Avenue, by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Additionally, his career includes more than seven years of law firm experience, including four years as an associate in the banking and finance practice group of Dreyer and Traub. He has also served a term as law secretary to the Honorable Alfred H. Kleiman, a New York Supreme Court judge presiding over both civil and criminal actions. 

Tuttle earned his JD from Syracuse University College of Law and his BA from Franklin and Marshall College. He has been an active participant in various industry and bar association committees and groups, including the New York Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys. He was elected a fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys in 1997. He has also been a guest lecturer and participated on several panels addressing numerous real estate and corporate counsel topics.