Obtaining Services from Office of General Counsel
The following information is provided to give students, faculty and staff direction regarding how to handle certain issues.
LEGAL ADVICE AND REFERRALS
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan 1-800-322-9142
REFERRALS TO OUR OFFICE
STAFF
All Requests for legal advice must be made with the approval of the appropriate Vice President or Associate/Assistant Vice President.
FACULTY
All requests for legal advice must be made with the approval of the appropriate Dean, Associate/Assistant Dean, Provost or Vice Provost.
USE OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL
Only the General Counsel may hire or retain an attorney for any purpose, and the General Counsel must approve all payments to attorneys. Departments or offices that wish to hire an attorney for any purpose must contact the general counsel prior to any work being performed. The only exception to this policy is attorneys that are retained to instruct classes and give public presentations.
INVESTIGATORS ON CAMPUS
Except for routine Veterans Administration personnel and United States military security checks, investigators must be immediately referred to the Risk Manager or General Counsel. Such investigators include, but are not limited to, insurance investigators, civil rights investigators, safety investigators, representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, etc.
SUBPOENAS
Records - Subpoenas for records require response within specific time periods and are governed by complex laws regarding their disclosure. It is imperative that all subpoenas be immediately forwarded to the Office of General Counsel for handling.
Appearance in Court - Employees receiving a subpoena to testify in court are encouraged to contact the Office of General Counsel with questions they may have on general trial procedure and testimony.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST (FOIA)
The Associate General Counsel is the University's Freedom of Information Officer. An employee or office receiving a FOIA request should forward the request and/or contact the Office of General Counsel as soon as possible. A request received by email may be forwarded to foiarequest@cmich.edu. The Freedom of Information Act requires the university to respond to requests within 5 business days. More information regarding the university's handling of these requests is found in the Freedom of Information Act Processing Summary, Procedures and Guidelines and available in the university's Administrative Policies, Procedures and Guidelines, policy 3-20. The link to policies is in the navigation pane.
RECORD REQUESTS
Requests for information about university employees or students are to be forwarded to the Office of General Counsel for handling.