What We Do
The BYU Office of General Counsel provides legal services to the four institutions of higher education affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: BYU, BYU-Hawaii, BYU-Idaho, and Ensign College. BYU is a nationally recognized undergraduate and graduate university located in Provo, Utah, with about 32,000 students. BYU-Idaho, located in Rexburg, Idaho, transitioned from a two-year junior college to a four-year university in 2001 and has about 15,000 students. BYU-Hawaii is a small liberal arts university located on the north shore of Oahu with about 2,500 students. Ensign College is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and focuses on delivering business and technical training culminating in a two-year degree to a student population of about 2,000 students.
The Office of General Counsel advises university administrators as they make operational and policy decisions for their institutions.
General Advice. Each attorney in the Office of General Counsel is assigned to specific practice areas or divisions of campus. When a legal issue arises, university administrator or other contact their assigned attorney and indicate the problem or concern. The attorney then analyzes the problem in light of his or her knowledge of the law. Or, in some cases, the attorney recognizes that the area of law is sufficiently new or nuanced that legal research would be helpful. Once the analysis is developed or complete, the attorney communicates the advice back to the administrator or employee in the form of a memo, e‑mail, phone call, or face-to-face meeting. The administrator is then empowered with the legal analysis needed to make decisions or take action on behalf of the university.
Compliance. Our legal compliance practice has grown and developed in recent years with the ever-increasing body of federal laws and regulations. Even though the Church's higher education institutions are private and religiously affiliated, numerous federal regulations apply, most notably those required to maintain Title IV eligibility for accepting federal funds. As a result, our compliance work has developed into a major area of legal advisory services for the institutions we serve.
Policy. Although not strictly legal in nature, the four institutions have growing policy programs. Many policies are mandated by federal law or regulation. Others, though not legally mandated, specify the institutions' positions on business, education, or employment practices and therefore have legal impact. Although we do not usually act as the policy maker, legal advice is indispensable in developing particular policies. Our office has therefore been tasked with helping create policy and moving proposed policies through the President's Council approval process.
Committees. The Church's four institutions of higher education conduct much of their fact gathering and analysis for educational and operational performance through various committees. (See Committees)
Attorneys from the Office of General Counsel advice university committees in an effort to empower administrators to make effective, legally sound policy and operational decisions.
The need for contracts is extensive at the four higher education institutions served by the BYU’s Office of General Counsel. The institutions teach tens of thousands of students; provide and consume goods and services; commission massive building projects; hire and manage thousands of employees; license developed technology; compete in intercollegiate athletics, showcase sports events in arenas and on television and operate multiple television; radio, and Internet broadcasting platforms. All of these arrangements require agreements between the institutions and various third parties. The Office of General Counsel supervises the institutions’ contracting process; however, because of the sheer volume of contracts, multiple offices on the various campuses do most of the day-to-day negotiation and drafting of contracts. These offices include the following:
- Purchasing and Travel Office
- Physical Facilities
- Internship Office
- Office of Research and Creative Activities
- Human Resources
- Technology Transfer Office
- Copyright and Licensing Office
- Office of Creative Works
- BYU Licensing and Trademark Office
- Harold B. Lee Library
- Religious Studies Center
- Neal A. Maxwell Institute
- BYU Broadcasting
- BYU Store
- The Daily Universe
- Museum of Art
- Athletic Department
- Student Life
Our attorneys maintain relationships with key employees in each of these offices to support them in the contracting process. These employees are well-trained and can handle many contracting issues. Our attorneys are available to answer questions and get involved when contracts become complex, involve high dollar amounts, or are sensitive.
At any given time, the Office of General Counsel defends lawsuits or other quasi-litigation claims. Additionally the Office of General Counsel occasionally files lawsuits on behalf of one of the institutions. Attorneys handle lawsuits on a wide range of topics including, but limited to, employment, negligence, student discipline, and breach of contract. When a lawsuit is threatened or filed, our in-house litigation team examines the lawsuit to determine if outside counsel needs to be retained. When the lawsuit can be resolved or dismissed without protracted litigation, or when attorneys in the office have the requisite expertise, the in-house team handles the case.