FAQs
Below are some commonly asked questions and our responses:
If you receive a subpoena directed to the 海角社区, or related to your work at 海角社区, you should not accept it. You should direct the person attempting to serve the subpoena to the Office of General Counsel, Cramer Way, room 326, 256-765-4487.
If you receive a summons or court order, or are contacted by an attorney in connection with University business, you should immediately direct him or her to or contact the Office of General Counsel, 256-765-4487.
Our office will coordinate the appropriate response to such legal inquiries. Under no circumstances should any information be disclosed or University documents be released without prior notification and approval from the Office of General Counsel.
Faculty and staff regularly receive proposed contracts from various educational institutions, outside agencies, vendors, and other third parties. Most contracts to which the University (or any college or department of the University) is a party, should be reviewed by the Office of General Counsel and signed by a University officer – the President or Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs or appropriate Vice President. Check with the vice president in your area regarding signatory authority, as most vice presidents have authority up to a certain limit. Signing contracts without the appropriate authority is most likely not within the scope of employment and could, under some circumstances, lead to the person who signed the contract being held personally liable for the contractual obligations.
For questions regarding review and/or signature, please call the Office of General Counsel's main number, 256-765-4487.
It depends on the type of record. Under Alabama law, many University records fall under the retention and disposal guidelines established by the Alabama State Records Commission. The guidelines are called the Records Disposition Authority (RDA) and can be found here.
The retention and disposal guidelines apply to University records in all formats. The RDA governs the disposition of all records, regardless of format, created by the University to dissolution. Please contact the staff of the Alabama Department of Archives and History before destroying any records created before 1940.
The RDA establishes retention and disposition instructions for some University records, regardless of the medium on which those records may be kept.
For more information on records retention and approved methods for destruction, please contact the Office of General Counsel, 256-765-4487.
When the purpose of a communication between University employees and the General Counsel is to request and provide legal advice, those communications are confidential or "privileged." This attorney/client privilege is critical for ensuring that clients speak freely with their attorneys and allows attorneys to provide candid advice. However, the privilege is the University's; communications between individual employees and University employees may be disclosed to other administrators or to outside counsel retained to represent or advise the University on a "need to know" basis.
For the privilege to apply, you should never discuss your communications with the General Counsel with anyone outside of the University. Even within the University, you should take care only to discuss the communications with others who have responsibility for the issue at hand.
Disclosure of these communications risks waiving the privilege, which means the communications would no longer be confidential. Keep in mind that forwarding an email with legal advice could waive that privilege.