Any contract under which legal services are provided by a private law firm or an attorney or paraprofessional who is not employed by The Texas A&M University System, regardless of the amount of legal services provided in relation to other services, will be deemed an Outside Counsel Contract (OCC). A&M System members may not initiate the process of selecting outside counsel prior to receiving the approval of the Office of General Counsel (OGC). All requests to retain outside counsel shall be submitted in writing to OGC. All OCCs shall be prepared by the OGC and submitted by the OGC to the Office of the Attorney General for approval, except as otherwise provided by state law. Payment for legal services rendered by outside counsel shall be in accordance with the approved Outside Counsel Contract.