Mike
Godfrey
Chancellor McTeer has been out of the office on System business. In his absence, Cullen M. “Mike” Godfrey discusses his new role as A&M System general counsel.
Before joining the A&M System in July, Godfrey was a partner in the Austin office of Jackson Walker, LLP, where he worked since 2004. Prior to that, he was vice chancellor and general counsel of The University of Texas System for four years and chief ethics officer. He also served for 10 years as general counsel for FINA, Inc., a multi-billion-dollar petroleum and petrochemical company.
He received his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 and J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1970.
Given my long history with The University of Texas at Austin, both as a student and as general counsel of the UT System, it came as a surprise that I would also be invited to serve as general counsel of The Texas A&M University System.
When I met with the Board of Regents, I told them I was a proud graduate of The University of Texas, but I had never thought that there was only one great university in this state. I already knew that there were several great universities within The University of Texas System, and I am quickly learning that there are nine great universities in the A&M System, plus our Health Science Center, and seven great agencies.
Godfrey, a University of Texas graduate and former general counsel for the UT System, poses with the van used in his recent move from Austin to College Station.
I am looking forward to working with all of the universities within the A&M System as well as with the state agencies that are also under the System’s umbrella. These are challenging times, but the challenges are what make my job interesting.
Priority: the economic value of scholarly research
The Board of Regents has made clear that it wants to expand technology commercialization. While our universities and agencies are state-funded institutions, and we share in the wealth of the state’s university lands, there never seems to be enough money to address all of the things that universities and agencies need or the goals to which they aspire.
Therefore, realizing the economic value—not only the scholarly value—of our research must become an integral part of our overall funding. For 10 years I served as the general counsel of a large petroleum and petrochemical company that had an important research and development component. I became very familiar with the value of patented technology, of licensing and of entering into joint ventures to exploit that technology. I hope to be able to bring that experience to the A&M System as we look for ways to expand the range of benefits that come from our research.
About the Office of General Counsel
The System’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) serves as the primary law firm for each of the institutions that make up the System. OGC provides many of the same legal services that a law department of any large entity would provide. These include real estate law, labor and employment law, procurement and contracting, intellectual property, etc.
As a public institution of higher education, however, we also provide legal services in areas not frequently encountered in the private sector. Examples are the rights and responsibilities of students, faculty and staff that are protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The A&M System is also directly governed by the Texas Constitution and statutes passed by the Legislature as well as by Regents’ rules and policies. Issues of academic freedom overlay each of these areas.
Beyond the Office of General Counsel, the System’s primary outside law firm is the Office of Attorney General. I am privileged to be friends with General Abbott, and Jay Kimbrough, our new Deputy General Counsel, came directly from the Office of Attorney General where he was deputy attorney general. Most all of the System’s litigation will be handled by the Attorney General’s Office in coordination with System attorneys.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
I was fortunate to inherit a department staffed with outstanding attorneys who bring a wealth of prior experience within the System, and I am a believer in the axiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
There are only a few measures that I anticipate initiating in the near term. These include an upgrade of the OGC website with more emphasis on standardized contracts that are available for use by clients throughout the System. I also expect that we will move toward a department with more individualized areas of expertise rather than having each of the attorneys being expected to be conversant with the broad range of legal issues that confront our member institutions.
All lawyers in Texas are required to complete a minimum of 15 hours of continuing legal education each year, and we will be providing more of that training through in-house programs. By having the System’s lawyers present CLE programs, it encourages them to enhance their individualized expertise and then to share that expertise with their colleagues.
I hope to make the Office of General Counsel as client friendly as possible. The Texas A&M University System was not created just so that it could have an Office of General Counsel. Rather, OGC exists to facilitate and enhance the System’s missions of teaching, research and service to the State of Texas, and I am committed to fulfilling those responsibilities.
