The University of Michigan has retained Washington, D.C.-headquartered Williams & Connolly as outside counsel as the Big Ten conference weighs whether to suspend football head coach Jim Harbaugh in connection with an NCAA signal-stealing investigation. A spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the school had retained the firm.

Michigan is facing an NCAA investigation for allegedly sending people to the games of future opponents in order to scout, record and decode the signals for offensive and defensive play calls, according to press reports. Separately, the Big Ten is mulling discipline for Harbaugh under the conference's sportsmanship policy in relation to the alleged sign-stealing scheme.