Welcome To The Office of Legal Affairs
The Office of Legal Affairs supports the teaching, research and service missions of the university by providing legal advice and representation to the board of trustees, senior administrators, faculty and staff on matters relating to the performance of their institutional responsibilities. Our client is the university as a whole. We cannot assist university employees or students with personal legal issues.
We provide legal services to units throughout the university in a broad range of areas, including:
- compliance with local, state and federal laws,
- employment law,
- preparation and review of contracts,
- litigation in state and federal courts and administrative agencies,
- policy development,
- public records, and
- compliance with Ohio ethics statutes.
The Ohio Attorney General is the statutory legal advisor for all state universities. The attorneys in the Office of Legal Affairs act under the AG's authority and have been designated Assistant Attorneys General. We work with private law firms appointed by the AG as special counsel to respond to lawsuits filed against the university. Special counsel are also available to provide advice in specialty areas such as intellectual property, immigration and business transactions.
Administrators and faculty are encouraged to contact us at the inception of a project or at the first sign of a legal problem. Early consultation with Legal will often avoid complications that could arise later. We are also available to provide presentations to individual departments on legal topics relating to their responsibilities.