The Principal Consultant

Who Am I?

I founded Hamilton-Derrom Consulting in August 2007, and I continue to serve as the firm’s principal consultant and managing member.

When I’m not consulting, I wear a few academic hats: I serve as a school dean, professor, and institute director at a university classified as R1 (“Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity”) in the Carnegie Classification system.

My academic work is rooted in canon law. I earned my doctorate in canon law from The Catholic University of America’s School of Canon Law, where I defended my dissertation, John Henry Newman, Doctrinal Development, and the Canonical Status of the Theologian in the Church, which I expanded into my most recent publication, Newman, Canon Law, and Development: Quarrying Granite Rocks into Razors. I also earned an M.Phil. in systematic theology from Catholic University’s School of Theology and Religious Studies.

I am a 1997 graduate of Georgetown University, where I double-majored in History and American Government, and I later completed graduate work in theological ethics (M.A., S.T.L.) and canon law (J.C.L.) at the Catholic University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium.

What I Do in Practice

I partner with institutions and individuals to clarify complex problems, chart realistic options, and move toward sound, defensible outcomes.

• Institutional advising: assessment, planning, governance support, and executive-level counsel for higher education leadership.

• Canon law advocacy: case evaluation, procedural guidance, document preparation, and accompaniment through canonical processes.

• Strategy and communication: structured analysis, clear written recommendations, and messaging that is accurate, prudent, and actionable.

• Ethical, confidential process: careful attention to discretion, due process, and the human realities behind every matter.

  Let’s discuss your situation.

  Higher education consulting and canon law advocacy: confidential, thoughtful, and practical.