Mary Jo White's Ohio State Probe Earns $1M for Debevoise & Plimpton
“We can confirm that the law firm was engaged for a flat fee of $1 million, which was paid by the university on Dec. 27, 2018,” said Benjamin Johnson, director of media relations at Ohio State.
January 04, 2019 at 12:57 PM
3 minute read
Mary Jo White. Photo: David Handschuh/ALM
As a result of attorney Mary Jo White's investigation into Ohio State University head football coach Urban Meyer in 2018, Meyer retained his job after a short suspension and went on to coach his team to victory in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. And White's law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton, pocketed a cool $1 million five days earlier.
“We can confirm that the law firm was engaged for a flat fee of $1 million, which was paid by the university on Dec. 27, 2018,” said Benjamin Johnson, director of media relations at Ohio State.
Johnson was responding to a Freedom of Information Act request from Corporate Counsel filed last summer. The request sought information about White's investigation, as well as about payment to the law firm. Johnson declined to reveal any other information, citing attorney-client privilege. The university had made a summary of White's report public.
A Debevoise spokesperson declined a request for comment from White, and would not confirm the figure.
Meyer, an Ohio native, coached Ohio State to a national championship in 2014. He also served as head football coach for the University of Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010, where his teams won two national championships.
Ohio State hired White, a former U.S. attorney in Manhattan and ex-chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to conduct an independent investigation into Meyer. She and her legal team spent 14 days looking into what Meyer knew and what he did about a 2015 domestic incident complaint made against former OSU wide receivers coach Zach Smith by Smith's wife.
The complaint was revealed by the media last summer.
While the investigation cleared Meyer of any wrongdoing related to the handling of the complaint, it led to Meyer being suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season over the way he handled other issues involving Smith. Ohio State dismissed Smith, who was involved in a series of other questionable behaviors, according to White's report.
After beating arch-rival University of Michigan in November, Meyer announced his resignation as head coach, citing health reasons, to take effect after the Rose Bowl. He remains employed in Ohio State's athletic department.
The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the University of Washington Huskies in the New Year's Day football game, 28-23.
Read more:
Ohio State Keeping Law Firms Busy With 2 #MeToo Probes, Lawsuits
Mary Jo White Adds OSU Football Coach Probe to Busy Schedule
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