UNC-Chapel Hill has hired K&L Gates, a law firm with ties to Republican state legislators, to lead its investigation into the School of Civic Life and Leadership. Nathan Huff, a partner in the firm’s Research Triangle and Charlotte offices, has been leading interviews as part of the review.
The university confirmed Huff’s and the firm’s roles in a statement to The Assembly.
“Any time the University engages outside counsel, the University ensures that the selected individual or entity can approach the assignment in an objective and impartial manner,” a university spokesperson said in a statement.
Huff previously represented Senate GOP leader Phil Berger and former House Speaker Tim Moore in at least 10 cases, both with K&L Gates and with his previous firm, Phelps Dunbar. Huff didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Chancellor Lee Roberts revealed the investigation at a faculty meeting last month after a year of conflict, resignations, and a firing. Paul Newton, who resigned from the state Senate in March to become the university’s general counsel, told The Assembly that the civics school’s dean, Jed Atkins, initiated the review. That prompted former Provost Chris Clemens—who resigned after a conflict with Atkins and is now suing the university over alleged public records violations—to raise questions about the investigation, calling it “troubling” in a statement to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The School of Civic Life and Leadership has been controversial since it was first proposed. Its champions have said it will bring ideological balance to a too-liberal campus, while critics see that as undue political influence aimed at hiring more conservatives.
According to court records, Huff’s cases with Berger and Moore include some of the most significant political battles of the past few years. Huff defended General Assembly leaders in multiple voting rights cases, including Holmes vs. Moore, the North Carolina Supreme Court decision that allowed the government to require IDs to vote. He also represented Berger and Moore when they sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to prevent Gov. Roy Cooper from expanding Medicaid in 2017, and when they sued the State Board of Elections to prevent changes to absentee voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Huff is also representing GOPAC Inc., a Republican political organization, in an ongoing case involving Berger’s son, Kevin Berger. An opponent for the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners has alleged the younger Berger and GOPAC published defamatory statements about him due to his opposition to a casino project—a political controversy that has shaken Phil Berger’s firm grip on North Carolina politics.
Huff has also represented UNC-CH and East Carolina University’s health systems in 10 lawsuits against health insurance companies.
“Mr. Huff has more than 20 years of litigation experience representing a wide variety of clients, including universities, health care systems, government and individuals and has never represented someone based on their political party representation,” the UNC-CH spokesperson said in a statement. “Mr. Huff is a U.S. Veteran, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army JAG Corps, and previously served as a federal prosecutor under both republican and democratic U.S. Attorneys.”
Correction: A previous version of this story said Nathan Huff represented Kevin Berger. He represented a Republican political organization in the same case.
