The Office of the General Counsel reports directly to the board of curators while working closely with faculty, staff and administrative colleagues on the four campuses to render advice on the broad range of legal issues confronting a modern, public research university. The office provides legal representation for the entire university, a public corporation known as the Curators of the University of Missouri, and all of its constituent parts, including the board of curators; the university president, vice presidents, chancellors and campus officials; University Extension; University of Missouri Health System and individual employees of the university acting within their official capacities.

The responsibilities of the general counsel, and the Office of the General Counsel, are set forth in the board of curators bylaws and the University's Collected Rules and Regulations.

One of the office's unique responsibilities is representing the university in legal proceedings. The university's rules provide that the general counsel will represent the university in all matters in court and that university personnel must promptly refer any papers that they receive concerning legal proceedings to the Office of the General Counsel. No employee, campus, department, college or other unit should undertake the investigation, defense or settlement of a lawsuit or claim against the university. Lawsuits should be referred to the Office of General Counsel immediately. Claims that are not yet the subject of lawsuits should be referred immediately to the Office of the General Counsel or the university's Office of Risk and Insurance Management or the appropriate campus contact identified on that office's Web site. Under no circumstance should an employee, campus, department, college or other unit pay money to settle a claim without the express approval of the Office of the General Counsel or the university's Office of Risk and Insurance Management.

Similarly, the general counsel has the sole responsibility and authority under the university's rules for retaining any outside counsel for the university. No employee, campus, department, college or other unit should undertake to consult or retain any attorney to advise, represent or work for the university in any manner without the express approval of the Office of the General Counsel.

We invite you to explore our website to learn more about our Office and some of the legal issues affecting the university. Keep in mind that all legal advice depends on the facts and circumstances of a particular situation. As a result, the material on this site is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as specific legal advice. University faculty or staff should contact us directly to discuss any specific questions.