General Counsel
Welcome to the Office of the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel
Purpose of the Office
The Texas State University System Office of the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel (“OGC”) provides legal counsel to the Board of Regents, Chancellor, universities and colleges that comprise the System, striving to offer timely and responsible advice about the broad array of legal issues that face modern, public, complex institutions of higher education. The OGC handles existing and potential legal matters in order to help those institutions achieve their missions and, where appropriate, provides strong, vigorous, and reasoned legal representation and advocacy. The authority granted to the Office of the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel appears in the Texas State University System Rules and Regulations, Chapter II, Paragraph 3.2 and Chapter III, Paragraph 2.
Specifically, the OGC provides the following services:
- Oversight of all system and component legal work;
- Review of contracts and other agreements (required for documents submitted to Board or Chancellor for approval);
- Issuance of legal opinions;
- Policy, regulation, and rule review and legal drafting;
- Litigation defense (in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office);
- Legal risk assessment;
- Authorizing and overseeing the work of outside legal counsel;
- Providing counsel for internal investigations and appeals;
- Legislative review, analysis, and research (as requested); and,
- Offering proactive legal training, including state-required ethics training.
- Govt. Code, Chapter 95,
Administration of the Texas State University System - Govt. Code, Chapter 96,
Institutions of the Texas State University System - Govt. Code, Chapter 556,
Political Activities by Certain Public Entities and Individuals - Govt. Code, Chapter 572,
Personal Financial Disclosure, Standards of Conduct, and Conflict of Interest
Staff
Dr. Fernando C. Gomez, Texas State University System Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, leads the division with the support of Senior Administrative Assistant Melissa Dix.Contact Information
Office of the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel
Texas State University System
200 E. 10th Street, Suite 600
Austin, Texas 78701-2407
Phone: 512-463-1808
Fax: 512- 463-1816
Governing Statutes
Enabling Legislation
Texas Ethics Laws
Rules and Regulations
Duties and Ethics of Board Members
Historically Underutilized Businesses
