A STUDY OF THE PERCEIVED VALUE OF IN-HOUSE LEGAL COUNSEL FOR A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY IN CONTRAST TO THAT OF A PRIVATE LAW FIRM: CONTROLLING LEGAL COSTS AND INCREASING EFFICIENCY IN POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATIO

This study determined the extent of the use and role of resident legal counsel, as perceived by administrators at selected four-year colleges and universities, regarding the effectiveness of resident legal counsel as contrasted with the effectiveness of outside or private legal counsel in terms of the cost to the institutions, efficiency in policy formulation, decision making, and immediate on-site preventive legal advice. The underlying research focus was whether the use of resident legal counsel as perceived by college and university administrators was the best method for delivery of legal services for a college or university insofar as the choice of resident legal counsel would result in lower legal costs and increased efficiency in decision making, policy formulation, and implementation processes for colleges and universities.;The population selected for this study was four-year post-secondary institutions in the United States, divided into four subpopulations to develop a stratified random sample. This population was chosen to allow more exact data collection to identify the current practices of four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The instrument to obtain the necessary data from the sample of the subpopulations was a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to the president of each selected institution. The questionnaire items required the administrators to indicate their perceived needs (present and projected) for legal services, the frequency that legal counsel is called upon, the types of legal problems affecting colleges and universities, the method employed for the delivery of legal services, the cost for legal services, the use of legal counsel in the administration and daily operation of the institution, the perceptions of administrators as to the ability of legal counsel to give preventive advice, and the method of legal services preferred by the administrators. An accurate record was kept of all outgoing and incoming questionnaires.;A percentage distribution of each response for each descriptive question for each group was computed. These percentage distributions were then displayed in tables in a comparative form.;The data showed no differences between the administrators of the various subpopulations in perceiving that the expense of the service of private legal counsel was a concern. However, more administrators from small private institutions disagreed that resident legal counsel was more economical than other legal services than administrators from larger institutions. Administrators from small public schools agreed that resident legal counsel was the most economical legal service. It was found that administrators perceived resident legal counsel as more effective than private legal counsel if no lawsuits were brought against the institution. The administrators indicated no differences between them in the expectation that resident legal counsel was more effective than private legal counsel. Immediate availability of legal counsel was the major reason administrators reported in identifying a preferred type of legal counsel. There were significant differences in the way administrators viewed the economic value of resident legal counsel. Most administrators were uncertain about the economic value of resident legal counsel. Recommendations were based on these findings.