Mandate
Mission
The Office of Legal Services is dedicated to providing efficient, reliable and professional legal advice and strategic guidance to its University clients. Our lawyers and staff pride themselves on serving as a resource for informed decision-making and creative problem-solving which supports the University’s academic, research and community service objectives.
Clients
General legal advice and services are provided by the Office of Legal Services to McMaster’s Board of Governors, Senate, Senior Administration, Faculties, Departments and Administrative Units engaged in University activities.
Objectives
As internal counsel, we constantly strive to understand the University’s mission and objectives through regular interaction with groups and individuals from across the University to assist them in conducting McMaster’s daily business. We keep informed of legislation and case law that may impact the University. We also seek to maintain an understanding of the issues affecting higher education generally so that we may offer legal and strategic advice within the University context.
The objectives of the Office of Legal Services include:
Serving as a point of first contact for all requests for legal services and assigning legal matters to the appropriate lawyer, either internally or externally.
Oversight and facilitation of all manner of legal transactions and communications, as appropriate, in the course of fulfilling the University’s legal and ethical obligations.
Liaising with external university counsel to formalize retainers and/or engagement letters; facilitating case management and reviewing and approving invoices and fees charged by external counsel for completeness and propriety.