The Office of General Counsel is responsible for responding to documents served on the university or on university employees in the course and scope of their employment. As a university employee, you may encounter a situation in which a process server asks you to accept service of a legal document during the course of your workday. Typically, these legal documents consist of:
- Subpoena: A subpoena is a written order issued by a court, attorney, or administrative agency. A subpoena generally requires a person to provide testimony and / or documents in connection with a legal proceeding, such as a deposition, court hearing or a trial. A subpoena is not a lawsuit against the university or the employee.
- Summons and Complaint or Petition: These documents are the documents used to initiate a lawsuit against the university.
If you are asked to accept service of a document or on behalf of the university or another employee, you should decline and inform the process server to bring the documents to the Office of the General Counsel, 201 Morrison Hall.
If you accidentally accept service of a document or receive such documents by mail, please contact the Office of General Counsel immediately. Typically, these documents are time sensitive and failure to alert our office can result in adverse legal consequences. University employees should never provide testimony or documents on behalf of the university without first contacting the Office of General Counsel.
On occasion, university employees will receive direct inquiries from private investigators, state or federal officials, or governmental investigative agencies, without a subpoena. All such inquiries shall be immediately referred to the Office of General Counsel.