Community Update

MEMORANDUM

To:  The Law School Community

From:  Dean Trevor Morrison
Anthony Welters, Chair, NYU School of Law Foundation Board of Trustees

Date:  April 17, 2014

Re:  Community update  

Recently Care One, a business owned by NYU Law Trustee Daniel Straus, issued subpoenas to two Law School students in connection with litigation between Care One and the labor union, SEIU. The subpoenas requested information regarding any contact the students may have had with SEIU and any activity they may have engaged in, such as protests or meetings, relating to Mr. Straus or Care One. We acknowledge that parties to litigation are permitted, subject to applicable rules and judicial oversight, to gather evidence in support of their case, and expect that the parties will respect any ultimate resolution reached through the legal proceedings.  In the case of the litigation between Care One and SEIU, the dispute is longstanding, hard-fought and heated.  The Law School is not a party to the litigation and will remain uninvolved in it. 

The NYU Law Board of Trustees, of which Mr. Straus has been a dedicated member for many years, provides indispensable guidance and support to the Law School.  Drawn from all sectors of the legal profession and beyond, its members serve as leaders of the Law School and the greater NYU Law community.

No one in the Law School community would seek or welcome a conflict of any kind between a member of the Board of Trustees and a member of the student body.  As an educational institution, we are all fundamentally committed to the welfare of our students. 

We vigorously support the right of our students to express their views and to organize and participate in lawful demonstrations and other protest activity.  In this case, the Law School has assisted the students in retaining counsel and agreed to cover any legal expenses they may face in connection with the subpoenas.  Law School administrators have also counseled the students in an effort to help minimize the impact of these subpoenas on their studies.  We understand that the attorneys for both sides are in contact about how to resolve the matter, and we are hopeful that they will achieve a workable solution.