The Office of General Counsel seeks to advance the mission of the University by providing legal advice and representation to the University, its constituent units and affiliated entities, and to its trustees, officers, employees and student leaders who are acting on the University’s behalf. Thus, the General Counsel’s sole client is Cleveland State University itself. The primary client representatives are the President and the Board of Trustees, but includes a broader constituency depending on the circumstances. University faculty, staff and students may be included when they require legal services related to their functions on behalf of the University. The Office does not provide legal advice to faculty, staff or students on personal matters.

Because the Ohio Attorney General (AG) is the chief statutory counsel for all public entities, including the public universities, the attorneys in the General Counsel’s Office are also designated Assistant Attorneys General. The Office of the General Counsel works closely with the AG’s Office, which handles all litigation filed against the University, with the exception of certain federal and administrative cases for which the AG may assign to special, outside counsel. If you receive a subpoena, records request, lawsuit or other type of claim against the University or one of its colleges, departments or divisions, please forward it to the Office of the General Counsel immediately.

The Office of General Counsel provides a variety of legal services to the University, including but not limited to:

• Drafting, reviewing, negotiating and enforcing contracts, internal policies and procedures, licenses and permits. All new contracts and policies/regulations must receive review of the General Counsel Office before execution/implementation.
• Advising University departments during audits, investigations and other compliance reviews.
• Advising and assisting with property and construction matters; labor relations and personnel; academic, student and student organization issues, as well as student privacy issues under FERPA; insurance and risk management; immigration, tax, business, finance and purchasing matters; and patent, trademark and copyright issues.
• Overseeing and enforcing the University’s records retention policy.
• Maintaining the University’s on-line E-Policy index.
• Managing all litigation and administrative proceedings.
• Responding to public records requests, subpoenas and requests for student records.