Policy on Handling of Legal Issues by CAES Faculty and Staff
From time to time, CAES faculty and staff are called upon by attorneys to provide
information related to pending or on-going legal issues and/or litigation. In some cases
employees may receive a subpoena or a summons to appear in court to testify, and in
other cases they may be asked to produce documents or simply to answer questions. The
purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to our employees in handling such matters.
Subpoenas, Lawsuits and Other Legal Documents:
If an employee receives, either through mail or personal service, a subpoena, summons,
lawsuit, or other legal document related to his/her employment, they must immediately
forward that document to the Office of Legal Affairs. At the same time a copy should be
sent to the employee’s immediate supervisor, the appropriate Associate Dean/s and the
Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The preferred method
of transmitting documents is either by hand delivery or by fax. If necessary, the
employee may scan the documents and send as an email attachment. However, the
employee should refrain from discussing the details of the case in the body of the email.
This is better handled by phone call. Email documents are considered part of the
permanent record and are subject to release under the Georgia Open Records Act.
If the employee is subpoenaed to appear in court or to provide a deposition, typically
someone in UGA Legal Affairs will contact the employee beforehand to advise them. If
time constraints prevent the employee from seeking advice from legal affairs beforehand,
they should appear as ordered by the court and answer questions. Provide only factual
information. The employee is advised to refrain from engaging in speculation or stating
personal opinions.
Failure to comply with this procedure could result in the forfeiture of the right to be
represented by the Attorney General’s Office or to be covered by the Board of Regents
Professional Liability Plan.
Contact From Attorneys other Than Through Written Documents:
In some cases an employee may be contacted by an attorney either by phone or by email.
As soon as the employee becomes aware that the request relates to a legal matter, they
should refer the individual to UGA Legal Affairs. The employee may answer basic
questions or provide printed materials that are available in the public domain. If the
information requested relates to specific clientele or the attorney requests documents that
would not normally be available to the public, they should be referred to the open records
manager in the Office of Public Affairs. This type information would normally need to
be requested by the attorney through the open records request process. In addition to
referring the individual to UGA Public Affairs, the employee should also call their
immediate supervisor and make them aware of the contact.
Providing Legal Services as a Consultant:
CAES faculty members are often asked to serve as expert witnesses. Employees may not
serve as expert witnesses in the course of their employment without prior approval from
the Dean and the Office of Legal Affairs. It may be admissible to serve in such cases as a
private consultant as long as the faculty member follows the proper procedure to gain
administrative approval for such activities. These procedures are outlined in the UGA
Faculty Consulting Policy. If the faculty member is serving in the capacity of a
consultant, it shall be understood that they will be acting on their own accord and will not
be representing the positions of the University of Georgia. Faculty members who engage
in these outside activities are encouraged to ensure that they are covered by a private
professional liability insurance policy. They will not be covered under the Board of
Regents Professional Liability Plan.
In such cases, faculty members are strongly encouraged to refrain from becoming
involved in cases which could constitute a conflict of interest with their professional
duties or with other activities of the University of Georgia. In general, faculty members
who have an Extension appointment will not be approved for in-state consulting for this
reason. Research and Teaching faculty could also be denied for in-state consulting if it is
deemed that there is a significant probability of a conflict of interest.
Adopted June 18, 2007