Charge to the Office of the General Counsel
The Office of the General Counsel is committed to act with integrity, knowledge of the law and reason in support of the dynamic educational environment of West Virginia University. It is the function of the attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel to provide, manage and coordinate all legal services on behalf of and for the institution, to minimize legal risks and costs and to do so reliably and professionally.
Scope of Representation
The Office of the General Counsel represents West Virginia University as an institutional client, the institution acting through its authorized officials, including the Board of Governors, the President, the Provost, Vice Presidents, Deans, Directors and other persons responsible for the management of academic and administrative units. The various constituents within the University that necessitate legal counsel are all part of the same client – West Virginia University. Accordingly, there are no separate attorney-client relationships established with individuals; rather, the attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel owe their loyalty to the Institution, West Virginia University.
Consistent with the mission and interests of the University, the Office of the General Counsel strives to be problem solvers; to defend the interests of the University and its constituents; to protect and promote the integrity of the University; to practice preventive law in order to protect the University; and to serve as a strategic partner to its clients, providing advice, guidance and quality legal services to the University community in support of West Virginia University’s overarching goals, objectives and mission.
Because the Office of the General Counsel represents West Virginia University, its ultimate responsibility is to the Board of Governors and the President. Each and every attorney in the Office of the General Counsel has a personal and professional fiduciary obligation to the University, including the responsibility to protect and advance the integrity, interests and assets of the University and a solemn duty to act out of loyalty, honesty, independence, impartiality and integrity. The Office will provide advice and counsel to University employees only when those employees are acting within the scope of their employment. The Office of the General Counsel does NOT provide legal advice or representation to individual members of the University community on matters of a personal nature or on matters adverse to the interests of West Virginia University.
