The University paid more than $1.8 million to the law firm McGuireWoods LLP for legal services related to the Justice Department’s investigations, according to invoices sent between April and August 2025. The documents, which cover legal work performed between April and August, show extensive attorney activity billed at rates approaching $1,000 per hour, though nearly all narrative descriptions of the work are redacted.
The Cavalier Daily obtained these invoices from a source who wished to remain anonymous, who had received them via a Freedom of Information Act Request.
McGuireWoods’ work advising the University was authorized under a broader appointment by the Attorney General’s Office to serve as special counsel for general civil litigation matters. That appointment was formalized in a Nov. 22, 2024 letter from the Office of the Attorney General, which was also obtained by The Cavalier Daily through the same anonymous source via the FOIA Office.
The letter authorized McGuireWoods to represent state agencies and institutions, including the
University, subject to oversight by the Attorney General’s Office. Under the terms of the appointment, each matter must receive advance approval from the Attorney General’s Office, while payment for legal services remains the responsibility of the represented institution.
“Your firm was one of several firms selected to provide this limited representation during this term,” the letter read. “This Office, in consultation with state agencies, will be at liberty to determine which of the appointed firms they will use based on specified expertise needed, cost, availability, and other considerations.”
This authorization became relevant in April when the Justice Department issued the first of seven letters to the University. These letters, which were sent between April and June, initiated inquiries into admissions, DEI policies and civil-rights compliance and were accompanied by escalating warnings of potential enforcement action.
The earliest invoice in the set reflects work performed between April 1 and April 30, totaling $14,626.50. The matter description in that invoice is listed as “DOJ Letter Re DEI and Admissions,” indicating that the University had engaged outside counsel shortly after the Justice Department sent its initial letter to the University April 11.
Legal billing increased dramatically in the weeks that followed. A May invoice shows $359,096.15 in approved charges for activity between May 1 and May 31, consisting of hundreds of time entries that outline tasks such as drafting, reviewing, advising, coordinating and preparing, though the specifics of those tasks are obscured by redactions.
Additional invoices continue through the summer, including $456,379.66 for work performed between June and August, $544,745.83 for work in July and August and another $485,293.07 for the same late-summer period.
In a statement to The Cavalier Daily, University spokesperson Bethanie Glover said the payments reflected legal services associated with preparing responses to federal inquiries and reaching an agreement to pause the investigation.
“A majority of the funds paid to McGuireWoods from April-August 2025 were payment for legal services related to evaluating and preparing initial responses to the seven U.S. Department of Justice inquiries … and navigating and reaching the Oct. 22 agreement with the DOJ to pause its remaining inquiries in acknowledgement of the University’s efforts to comply with civil rights laws,” Glover said.
Glover said McGuireWoods continued advising the University on DOJ-related matters beyond the August billing period, but that later billing was not included in the records obtained through the FOIA request. The University did not respond to a request to provide invoices or a summary of payments made to McGuireWoods after August. The University signed an agreement with the Justice Department Oct. 22 to suspend five remaining investigations after two were closed in September.
Billing accelerates through May and June in parallel with a rapid escalation of demands from the Justice Department, which may have contributed to the volume of outside legal work reflected in the invoices.
Several University officials approved the invoices before payment, according to the records. Approval histories attached to each invoice show that costs were reviewed and authorized by multiple administrators, including individuals such as former University Counsel Cliff Iler and Rob Bell, deputy attorney general and former delegate, depending on the billing period. After internal approval, the invoices were processed through the University’s Legal Tracker system for payment.
The invoices reflect continued high-volume legal work throughout July and August, several months before Interim President Paul Mahoney informed the Board of Visitors in September that two investigations were closed and in October that the University had entered into a standstill agreement with the DOJ, pausing investigative activity.
Because nearly all substantive descriptions of work are redacted, the invoices do not reveal the specific nature of McGuireWoods’ tasks or the University’s legal strategy during the federal inquiry.
McGuireWoods did not respond to a request for comment.
Attorney general letter
McGuireWoods invoices
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