University of Utah President Arthur K. Smith cleared a major hurdle Friday in adding a small legal department of four or five attorneys to his staff.
The state Board of Regents agreed to let the nine public colleges and universities "appoint attorneys to provide legal advice to the institutions' administrations and to coordinate legal affairs." But the regents said the attorneys cannot conduct litigation or issue formal legal opinions and will cooperate with the attorney general's office in providing legal representation to the college or university.The regents said they will coordinate the activities of the attorneys at the institutions, and the institutions will provide them with an annual report.
Before the attorneys can be hired, however, legislation must be passed to amend state law.
Smith said he'd pay for the attorneys by not replacing administrators who leave.
The U. president said the U. needs to practice preventative law, and that a lack of U. attorneys was an important factor in the U.'s recent legal woes, including the investigation of antitrust litigation costing millions.
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