According to Taylor defending the University against lawsuits is only a "teeny-weeny" fraction of the OGC's mission which "is to provide legal advice to the University." So the office spends most of its time solving non-litigation problems as requested by the various Harvard schools.

The Risk of Employment

The few complaints that do actually make it to the courthouse, Taylor says, are generally related to employment.

For example, in 1998, there were two cases filed in Middlesex Superior Court by former Harvard employees.

One case involved Dinah K. Bodkin, a former instructor at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and researcher at Brockton/West Roxbury Veterans Administration Medical Center, a Harvard-affiliated hospital.

Bodkin claims she was fired from these positions because she reported what she claims were procedural lapses in the scientific study conducted by another HMS doctor. She says her dismissal violated the school's policies on reporting scientific problems, and ended her career as a research scientist. She is seeking $450,000 in damages. The case is still active.

Also in 1998, a former University security guard who worked for the University from 1988-1989 sued Harvard after learning that personally damaging information was included in his personnel file. He alleges that the University promised to remove the information after he voluntarily resigned. When he applied for a job with a Florida police department and his file was sent there, however, the information was still included in the file.

A judge quickly dismissed the suit because too much time had elapsed between the alleged actions and the suit.