The Office of General Counsel (OGC) oversees all legal affairs of Brown. The OGC is authorized to hire all outside counsel to represent Brown as needed. For a list of OGC attorneys and their practice areas, please see the OGC Our Team or the Practice Areas webpages.

When OGC determines that an outside attorney and/or law firm is needed by OGC for handling a particular matter, the following steps should be taken.

• The OGC selects the lawyer or firm to be retained; executes a retainer agreement; and reaches an understanding with outside counsel on fees and interaction between the outside attorney and key campus clients.
• An attorney from OGC should be the lead counsel in any matter and will have primary responsibility for keeping senior officers and other key employees concerned with the legal matter fully informed about strategy and status.
• The OGC attorney handling the matter will decide if and when the outside attorney needs to be introduced to senior officers and/or key employees.
• The OGC attorney will generally participate in any discussions outside counsel has with senior officers and/or key employees and will work with outside counsel to minimize any burdens on campus clients. The OGC attorney, following such a discussion, will seek input from the senior officer or key employee to gauge their reaction to the outside counsel and to elicit any suggestions for improvement.
• The OGC attorney will accompany any Brown employee who is being prepared for or participating in an interview, deposition or other testimonial event (hearing or trial).