March 27, 1974
VICE PRESIDENT JOHN A. PERKINS
Re: Routine Contracts and Grants Which Need Not Be Reviewed By Office of General Counsel
This memorandum updates and replaces that of February 7, 1966 from then General Counsel Cunningham to then President Kerr regarding legal review of routine contracts and grants. Extramural grants and contracts for research, scholarly or professional training, or for public service programs relating either to research or to scholarly or professional training which are routine as to legal form, and which are within the authority of the President to approve (hereafter "routine contracts and grants"), need not be submitted to the office of the General Counsel for legal review. Routine contracts and grants are those meeting both of the following conditions:
The following contracts and grants should not be considered routine:
To help insure the legal sufficiency of routine contracts and grants the points set forth in the attached "Check List for Contracts and Grants" should be checked. Also, particular attention should be given to patent clauses and publication provisions to ascertain that these clauses comply with University policy.
Routine contracts and grants may involve legal problems, especially those relating to unusual undertakings. Therefore, the official with the authority to approve contracts and grants should always feel free to seek legal advice from the office of General Counsel.
The procedure of General Counsel's office described above does not preclude legal review of routine contracts and grants. Rather, it is optional whether any such contracts will be submitted to the General Counsel for review .
If you have any questions or if I can be of any further assistance with respect to this matter, please let me know.
Donald L. Reidhaar
General Counsel
cc: President Hitch.