Purdue goes different way with legal leanings

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Purdue is making a change to its legal area and switching to an in-house counsel who has ties to Mitch Daniels.

Although it's a first for Purdue, Purdue is the last school in the Big Ten to hire an in-house legal counsel.

"It'll be helpful to have a single point of contact and not just for me, but for the campus. Purdue was the only school in the Big Ten operating as it was," Purdue University President Mitch Daniels.

The University previously used the firm Stuart & Branigin, which provided legal counsel to Purdue for more than 130 years.

Steven Schultz will now serve as legal adviser. Schultz was former Gov. Mitch Daniels' chief legal counsel.

Daniels said Schultz will advise him and the Board of Trustees on legal issues. Daniels said he suggested hiring Schultz.

"We want everybody around here, looking for ways to economize and that's one possibility. And once again, I want somebody looking at the whole array of rules and policies that we have here to make sure that they're all necessary, that they're clear," Daniels explained.

Meanwhile Stuart & Branigin also showed its support for the new plan.

“This change has been under discussion for a long time,” Stuart & Branigin partner Thomas Parent said. “We have been actively engaged with Purdue’s Board of Trustees in evaluating various models for the provision of legal services to the University.”

A native of Indianapolis, Schultz got his bachelor's degree from Butler University and law degrees from Yale Law School and the University of Cambridge.

He has worked as an attorney with two law firms and as chief legal counsel to Daniels when he was governor.

Schultz also has served as general counsel for Irwin Financial Corp. and as executive director of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority.

He currently is vice president and general counsel of Southeastern Indiana Health Organization and is concluding an engagement as special adviser to the state of Indiana on the Ohio River Bridges Project.

“Mr. Schultz is a highly respected attorney who has been a trusted adviser to President Daniels,” Parent said. “We look forward to continuing our long and productive relationship with them and with the trustees.”

President of Purdue Student Government Joe Rust hopes the new legal counsel will also help students and student organizations.

"Contracting guest speakers, contracting musicians and musical groups. There's a lot that goes into, not outside of just individual students, but also includes student organizations because that's a big part of  the experience that a lot of people have here on campus," Rust said.

Rust said Purdue Student Government has already been trying for years to get a contracted attorney to help students with legal advice. He said he plans to speak with Daniels to see if the new legal counsel will be able to aid students and student organizations as well as administrators.

Steven Schultz will take over as the University's legal counsel this Friday. Stuart & Branigin will continue to handle a portion of Purdue's outside legal work.