When 
University 
Provost 
Martin A. Philbert was placed 
on administrative leave on Jan. 
21 following allegations of sexual 
misconduct, the University hired 
WilmerHale, a law firm based in 
Washington, D.C., to investigate the 
claims against him.
According 
to 
a 
letter 
of 
engagement 
contracting 
WilmerHale, 
obtained 
through 
a Freedom of Information Act 
request, no attorneys at the firm 
who have previously represented 
the University will be working on 
this investigation. In addition, the 
contract explicitly states the firm is 
not contracted to defend Philbert 
or the University should any 
individual pursue a lawsuit against 
the University. 
“Our 
acceptance 
of 
this 
engagement 
does 
not 
involve 
an undertaking to represent the 
University or its interests in any 
other matter,” the letter reads. “Our 
Firm will not undertake any new 
matters for the University during 
this engagement, nor will our Firm 
undertake any matters involving 
the defense of any potential claims 
that are related to the allegations 
about Dr. Philbert.”
The letter notes the firm will 
support the University in regard to 
legal advice. 
WilmerHale is the resulting 
firm of a merger between Boston-
based law firm Hale and Dorr 
and the Washington, D.C.,-based 
firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering. 
Several individuals at the firm have 
prior experience in government, 
including former FBI Director 
Robert Mueller. While WilmerHale 
has 
represented 
corporations 
across the globe, the firm has 
often provided legal support to 
institutions of higher education, 
representing 
colleges 
and 
universities in lawsuits, providing 
legal advice and counseling and, as 

in the current case with the provost, 
serving as an external investigator 
for internal concerns at colleges or 
universities. 
Partners at WilmerHale involved 
in the investigation did not respond 
to the Daily’s request for comment 
in time for publication.
David Moran, clinical professor 
of law at Michigan Law School, said 
WilmerHale is considered one of 
the most prestigious, well-respected 
law firms in the country and 
graduates at Michigan Law School 
often hope to work there. Moran 
explained why the University would 
choose to hire an external firm to 
investigate the allegations against 
Philbert. 
“The last thing you want to do 
if you have (an) investigation of a 
very high ranking member of the 
administration is to conduct an 
internal investigation that runs the 
risk of being called a whitewash,” 
Moran said. “Anytime you have a 
large organization investigating 
itself, you are likely at the end of 
the day to have detractors of the 
investigation who will say, ‘Well, the 
powerful people being investigated 
prevented a real full investigation,’ 
so if you want to convince people 
that you’re doing a real independent 
investigation, you need to get an 
outside counsel.”
WilmerHale’s 
predecessor 
Wilmer 
Cutler 
Pickering 
has 
worked with the University of 
Michigan in the past. In the 
landmark U.S. Supreme Court 
cases Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) and 
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Wilmer 
Cutler Pickering defended the 
University against two students 
who filed suit after they were 
denied admission to LSA and the 
Law School. The students alleged 
they weren’t accepted because the 
University’s 
admissions 
policies 
favored applicants from certain 
minority groups. The Supreme 
Court 
ultimately 
upheld 
the 
consideration of race as a factor in 
the college admissions process.

WilmerHale has also defended 
Harvard 
University 
in 
an 
affirmative action case, in which 
students denied admission to the 
school argued the consideration 
of race in Harvard’s admissions 
policies 
hurt 
Asian 
American 
applicants. 
The firm also has experience 
representing institutions of higher 
education in situations involving 
controversial allegations of sexual 
assault levied against students. 
WilmerHale touts its work on 
the matter on its website, writing 
that 
following 
the 
“improper 
indictment” of members of Duke 
University’s 
lacrosse 
team 
in 
2006, the firm was responsible for 
“conducting an internal review for 
the board and helping the University 
address follow-on civil litigation.”
Shortly after a student at North 
Carolina Central University accused 
three 
Duke 
University 
men’s 
lacrosse players of raping her at a 
party in 2006, prosecutor and former 
Durham County District Attorney 
Michael Nifong, who was pursuing 
the case against the lacrosse players, 
resigned and was disbarred for 
violating 
rules 
of 
professional 
conduct 
and 
deliberately 
withholding information. Partners 
at WilmerHale then joined Duke’s 
defense team and helped the school 
reach a settlement with the students. 
The partners left the case in 2011 to 
allow local legal firms to take charge 
of the defense.
Beyond representing institutions 
of higher education in lawsuits, 
the University previously worked 
with WilmerHale on a patent 
matter in 2014 and 2015, according 
to 
University 
spokesman 
Rick 
Fitzgerald. 
“Attorneys 
in 
WilmerHale’s 
office in Boston helped U-M on a 
patent matter, from May 2014 to 
October 2015,” Fitzgerald wrote in a 
statement to the Daily.
An October 2018 panel titled 
“How to navigate a Me Too 
investigation” at the fifth annual 

Global 
Investigations 
Review 
provides a look at the approach 
WilmerHale 
may 
follow 
in 
investigating Philbert. WilmerHale 
partner Brenda Lee discussed the 
ideal time for an institution to begin 
an external investigation as well 
as the importance of remaining 
neutral during the process.
“When we are hired to conduct 
a factual investigation, our work is 
impartial,” Lee said. “That’s true 
across all types of investigations 
but is especially important when 
dealing with such a sensitive topic 
like sexual misconduct — you have 
to see where the facts take you.” 
University 
President 
Mark 
Schlissel released a statement on 
Tuesday to update students and 
faculty on the work the University is 
doing in response to the allegations 
against Philbert and allegations 
of sexual misconduct against the 
late Robert Anderson, former 
team physician of the University of 
Michigan. 
Schlissel 
emphasized 
the 
University is working to support 
those who have been affected 
by 
offering 
free 
counseling 
services and encouraging anyone 
with additional information or 
perspectives to come forward and 
report them on a hotline. According 
to the statement, the University will 
also be working with an external 
firm to investigate the allegations 
against Anderson. 
“First, through an independent, 
external 
investigation 
team, 
the university will conduct an 
unflinching review of the facts – 
wherever they may lead – and will 
then provide to the public a full 
accounting of the harms caused to 
former patients by Anderson as well 
as any institutional failings that 
allowed him to keep practicing,” 
Schlissel 
wrote. 
“We 
promise 
to fully respect the privacy and 
confidentiality of witnesses as we 
do this.”
Reporter Arjun Thakkar can be 
reached at arjunt@umich.edu.

2 — Friday, February 28, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News

TUESDAY:
By Design
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk

FRIDAY:
Behind the Story

WEDNESDAY:
This Week in History

MONDAY:

Looking at the Numbers

B E HIND THE STORY

Every Friday, one Daily staffer will give a behind-the-scenes 
look at one of this week’s stories. This week, LSA freshman 
Julia Forrest on her story “VP Mike Pence holds rally in Troy 
ahead of Michigan Primary”: 

“I chose to cover this event because I’ve always been 
fascinated by campaign rallies and how politicians or those 
who are running for office speak to and interact with their 
supporters. It was interesting to see how the Vice President 
spoke to his and the President’s fan base as they hit the 
campaign trail for their re-election campaign. I also thought 
it was interesting to hear in-person the speaking tactics the 
Vice President uses to get his supporters excited and active in 
the rally. I also think it’s important to hear from our political 
leaders, no matter what party they’re from, and to hear 
supporters of those parties and understand why everyone 
supports the types of politics that they do.” 

OLIVIA CELL/Daily

QUOTE OF THE WE E K 

“
”In a world where we value free speech and we value 
diversity, I think I can disagree with the owner of a business but still 
do business with the business. So, I don’t think those things should 
enter into investment decisions at all... So, the student voice is 
important, but it doesn’t have a big input into the endowment.”

U-M President Mark Schlissel on letting political beliefs determine the University’s investment 
decisions during The Daily’s monthly interview this week. 

Who is WilmerHale, the firm hired 
to investigate Philbert allegations?

The organization famously represented Duke University in allegations of rape against 
lacrosse players and has worked for Harvard and U-M in cases on affirmative action

ARJUN THAKKAR
Daily Staff Reporter

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