UVa Doctors Hire Gladstone Jones Amid Investigation

Gladstone Jones, an attorney with the New Orleans law firm Jones, Swanson, Huddell, was contracted to represent doctors and professors during interviews with Williams & Connolly lawyers hired by UVa.

Williams & Connolly, recognized as one of the top litigation firms in the world, was hired by the university’s governing audit, risk and compliance committee after 128 anonymous UVa physicians and professors signed a letter of no confidence in UVa Health CEO Dr. Craig Kent and the dean of the medical school. UVa Melina Kibbe. The document, presented to the board Sept. 5, alleges the couple committed numerous procedural, ethical and legal violations, including intentionally overcharging patients while maintaining a “culture of fear and retaliation” that allowed dissent to remain silent.

“Gladstone Jones was hired by a group of faculty to participate in their interviews and serve on the Board of Visitors—Jim Ryan hired Williams & Connolly to investigate,” doctors and faculty members told The Daily Progress in a statement provided to the newspaper by the professor. Walt Heinecke, president of the UVa chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Jones, a graduate of Tulane Law School, specializes in environmental and commercial litigation. According to his firm’s website, his first major case was against Exxon Corporation back in 1997, the result of which “prompted changes to Louisiana regulations regarding the management of oil field wastes.” answer.

It remains unclear whether Jones was directly involved in the investigation of Williams and Connolly or simply provided legal advice to doctors and teachers.

UVa maintains that Williams and Connolly were retained as “external counsel to conduct an independent review” of the allegations, but many have questioned the independence of the investigation given that UVa President Jim Ryan has already said the findings will only never be shared with the Board of Visitors and high-ranking administrators.

“If the crises in higher education over the past 30 years have taught me anything, it is precisely the wrong way to conduct an investigation without extensive information and collaborative discussion,” Associate Professor Brian Pusser told his colleagues on the UVa Faculty Senate at the meeting. last month.

It was this concern – in addition to fears that the university would retaliate against doctors and professors who signed the letter of no confidence – that prompted about 40 hospital and medical school employees to leave Jones.

The group initially asked the university to cover the costs.

The state attorney general, who authorizes all legal fees for government agencies, denied the request.

“In light of what we have witnessed at UVA Health, we believe this is eminently sound advice,” the doctors and faculty wrote in an Oct. 14 letter to Attorney General Jason Miyares. “In fact, we believe that continuing this investigation without legal representation would not only be irresponsible on our part, but would also be detrimental to your investigation.”

“However, when we requested funding for this legal representation, we were informed that you had denied our request,” they said.

The office has already “hired a reputable law firm to investigate and assist in resolving the issues,” Miyares’ office said in a statement provided to The Daily Progress. Funding for another law firm to resolve this issue is not necessary, the attorney general said.

Miyares encourages UVa physicians and faculty to contact Williams & Connolly if they have concerns about the hospital or medical school.

“It is imperative that anyone with relevant information contact the law firm as soon as possible,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement. “Strong protections are in place to prevent retaliation against witnesses who come forward.”

UVa administrators said any hospital or medical school personnel who are concerned about the consequences of speaking out can contact Carolyn Saint, UVa’s chief audit officer, through a newly created and confidential reporting system.

Despite this, the authors of the letter to the attorney general argue that the presence of one’s own legal counsel at any meetings with Williams & Connolly is necessary to ensure that “any conclusions reached can be verified and verified by the facts.”

“We will discuss patient safety issues including fatalities, financial crimes including criminal fraud, and retaliation incidents that have resulted in some of our colleagues being demoted and terminated,” the letter said. “We have been continually advised by attorneys and others that under no circumstances should we participate in interviews on these serious matters with litigators hired by UVa without our own legal representation present.”

Not only are some doctors concerned about the content of any future discussions with Williams & Connolly’s lawyers, their letter goes on to say that many are concerned about how they have been “directly contacted by Williams & Connolly.”

“Often, these outreach activities occurred outside of normal business hours and were intimidating or even aggressive in nature,” the letter states.

The case, which doctors and teachers told The Daily Progress, involves at least two Williams & Connolly lawyers: Catherine Turner and Emmett Flood.

Turner, a Harvard University graduate and co-chair of the firm’s Accounting Liability and Congressional Investigations practice, specializes in internal auditing and accounting investigations. Benchmark Litigation, a guide to America’s top trial law firms and attorneys, is a Litigation Star in commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense.

Turner’s experience in Congress includes serving as an adviser to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while she was under investigation by a House Select Committee for the role she played in the 2012 terrorist attack on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya.

Flood also has significant experience representing clients before the federal government. The Yale Law School-educated lawyer has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, including representing former Vice President Mike Pence and his chief of staff Marc Short during the House Select Committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack, as well as the former president. Donald Trump during an investigation into his potential ties to Russia during the 2016 election.

While the results of these investigations are widely known, the results of the Turner and Flood investigation at UVa will likely never see the light of day.

UVa spokesman Brian Coy told The Daily Progress that the decision to withhold the law firm’s findings was based on the possibility of disclosing any confidential information to the public.

“Given the nature of the allegations contained in the anonymous letter, this review will cover sensitive personnel and legal matters and will be conducted on a confidential basis,” he said in an email.

The decision raised eyebrows not only at UVa Medical Center, but throughout the Charlottesville community, where residents rely on the health care system for medical care.

Local attorney Jeff Vogel told The Daily Progress that regardless of the results, Ryan has already made his support for Kent and Kibbe clear.

“If he feels like he wants to hide it, he will hide it,” Vogel said. “He has no obligation because it was conveyed to him in the attorney-client relationship.”

The doctors’ letter to Miyares echoes Vogel’s and notes that additional support from Jones would be helpful in enhancing the credibility of the investigation.

“Assuming that we do have the same goal of finding out the truth, why don’t you create an environment where UVA doctors, nurses and staff can share their evidence with you?” reads the letter. “Why hasn’t Williams & Connolly done this yet?”