When a person or a group brings a lawsuit against Dartmouth, the College has a set procedure but no set strategy for handling the case.
The three top officials of the Legal Affairs Office -- Assistant College Counsel Alegra Biggs, College Counsel Cary Clark and Associate College Counsel Sean Gorman -- meet to discuss the College's strategy, Clark said.
The three discuss defense strategies, which sometimes involve "engaging an outside lawyer to participate in the defense litigation," Clark said.
According to Clark, the method of defending the litigation depends on the nature of the lawsuit, and there is no stated strategy the College employs to defend the litigation.
"There is a whole range of types of litigation and each type requires a different way of preparing a defense," Clark said.
Clark said where the suit is filed and the type of lawsuit are major issues in preparing a defense.
The Legal Affairs Office can act independently, and is under no obligation to contact the College President's Office or other administrators.
But Clark said the College Counsel often contacts administrators depending on the nature of a specific case.
"If there are significant decisions to be made regarding the handling of the litigation then obviously I and the others on the legal staff would consult with the appropriate administrator," Clark said.
Gorman said the money used to defend the College against lawsuits comes from the yearly operating budget, and no money is set aside in a special legal defense fund.
Clark added that an additional budget is set aside for the payment of legal fees for outside counsel.
"There is no real way of anticipating what's going to happen from one year to the next," Gorman said. "There's no real way of budgeting for it."
According to Clark, the Legal Affairs Office has handled various types of lawsuits in the past, including personal injury lawsuits and alleged breaches of contract.
Clark said the College is sued very infrequently. "The number of lawsuits pending at any time is small for an organization of Dartmouth's size," he said.
Gorman estimated the College is sued "a few times a year" but said he feels that number is not extremely meaningful because the number of lawsuits can fluctuate significantly from year to year.
Clark said the College usually finds out about a lawsuit when papers are served, often on a College administrator.
But he said sometimes the College finds out about the lawsuit before the actual papers are served because the attorney of the plaintiff calls to inform the College Counsel as a matter of courtesy.
