Norment Displaced at W&M by State-Appointed Attorney

Friday, June 10, 2011

State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli recently appointed an attorney from his staff as full-time counsel to William and Mary, a move that will displace Republican State Senator Tommy Norment as the college’s legal advisor.

Norment will continue teaching two courses as well as supervising independent research and managing internship programs in law and government, according to William and Mary spokesman Brian Whitson, and he will receive a decreased salary of $60,000 beginning June 25.

Though the VirginianPilot suggested in a recent story that the college may have had a “tussle” with the Attorney General over the appointment, both the college and a spokesman for Cuccinelli say the agreement was reached jointly.

“One thing that has not been clearly pointed out in the media is that by statute, only the attorney general's office is permitted to provide legal counsel to state universities and all other state agencies,” said Cuccinelli’s Director of Communications Brian Gottstein. “After this office discussed that legal requirement with William & Mary, the school administration worked with our office to get full-time counsel from this office appointed to the school.”

Whitson agreed that “this is a conclusion we reached jointly with the AG's office.”

The move is not unusual, according to Cuccinelli’s office. “Most of Virginia's four-year schools have AG-appointed counsel on campus,” said Gottstein. Only the smaller schools such as Radford, Longwood, Mary Washington, and VMI and William and Mary do not have one, he pointed out. “W&M is by far the largest and most complex institution of those without counsel on campus.”

Norment, a local attorney who has served as commissioner of accounts for Williamsburg and James City County since 2008, is running for re-election this fall.

The state Senator wasn’t the only attorney to be affected by Love’s appointment.

Kiersten L. Boyce, who formerly coordinated the university’s legal affairs, will become the college’s compliance and policy officer. She will focus on keeping William and Mary in compliance with federal and state regulations and making and amending as necessary university policies, according to Reveley’s email. Kiersten will also be the college’s Title IX and ADA and Rehabilitation Act Coordinator, and she will oversee the Office of Equal Opportunity.