next »

[Forums Moderator]

Universities' legal staffs have grown significantly in size and scope over the past five decades, and top administrators have come to see lawyers as valuable advisers on a range of issues. At what point should a college stop relying solely on outside lawyers? When is the best time to get the general counsel involved in decision making? And is there a down side to looking at everything from a legal angle?
Read more...

[emma gross, u of utah]

This article doesn't evaluate alternatives to just hiring more lawyers:  who, if anyone, is looking to arbitration, mediation, and other forms of communication to resolve touchy issues?

The article also doesn't consider philosophical objections to importing corporate methods--like staffs of lawyers--to defend large institutions against potential detractors:  does higher education really want to ape corporate dynamics for self governance, and, if so, what happens to the spirit of inquiry that vagueness, open-endedness, and the absence of fear from litigation engenders in the professoriate?