Investigation into bullying claim by MSU trustee costs university nearly $600K so far
EAST LANSING — The legal bills for an investigation into whether bullying is an issue among the eight people elected by the state's voters to run Michigan State University have exceeded half a million dollars, and are rising.
Three law firms are involved in the inquiry that began last fall into whether board Chairperson Rema Vassar bullied fellow board members. MSU has been billed nearly $600,000 from the firms, all for work done last year, which means the total is likely to increase.
In October, Trustee Brianna Scott sent a seven-page letter to trustees accusing fellow Democrat Rema Vassar of "a pattern of violating our codes of conduct, ethics, and conflict of interest, including engaging in repeated undue influence, and bullying of Board members and administrators."
Vassar did not respond to a message left Friday. She declined to comment earlier this month to the State Journal on the investigation. Last fall, she responded to Scott's letter, denying the allegations.
"This letter and the false accusations underlying it are a tremendous distraction from the important work we need to do," she wrote, adding that "I wholly reject the coded language of 'bully' when describing me in any context."
After the Feb. 2 board meeting, Vassar confirmed the investigation was ongoing. She said she was not able to provide a timeline for its conclusion or whether the findings would be made public.
A message was left for MSU Vice President of Communications Emily Guerrant Friday.
The State Journal obtained invoices from MSU after filing a public records request. Names and other identifying information of trustees were redacted.
Miller & Chevalier, based in Washington, D.C., is the firm gathering information and determining whether the claims in Scott's letter to the board are true. The firm is also investigating "other issues that may arise involving potential violations of the Board of Trustees Code of Ethics and Conduct, criteria and requirements of the Higher Learning Commission, or other applicable standards."
Miller & Chevalier is charging the public university $350 to $960 an hour; most of the staff involved have rates on the higher end of that range.
From Oct. 30 to Nov. 22, the most recent information the State Journal was able to obtain from MSU, Miller & Chevalier billed the university $500,699, according to a receipt dated Dec. 13.
Miller Law, a firm based in Rochester, Michigan, is representing one trustee, whose name is redacted from the documents, regarding "investigations of allegations of impropriety as (text redacted) of MSU Board of Trustees." According to the engagement letter sent to the university by the firm, MSU will be paying for their representation of the one trustee.
Miller Law's hourly rates ranged from $850 to $925. For one month of legal services, from Dec. 5 to Dec. 31, Miller Law billed the university $85,175.
There was no invoice for the third law firm, Ahmad & Akbar Law, based in Royal Oak. However, according to the firm's contract with the university, the firm is owed $7,000 for a non-refundable retainer fee, and $400 per hour for legal work. The legal matter listed on the contract was "Miller Chevalier Interview." This contract was signed by Brian Quinn, the university's general counsel.
It's the second investigation involving the board that began last year. MSU also hired the Jones Day law firm to find out whether someone in the university leaked confidential information in the sexual harassment investigation of then-football coach Mel Tucker .
In that investigation, Vassar's attorneys, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, were paid by MSU. The firm billed the university $208,750 for September and October. Overall, total legal bills exceeded $513,000. Ultimately, that investigation was unable to find evidence that anyone on the board or elsewhere in the university leaked information about the internal investigation into Tucker.
Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@lsj.com, or follow her on X @sarahmatwood
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU trustees bullying investigation costs $600,000 and rising
