Choice of attorney reflects poorly on Rice

By Brian Reinhart     10/30/08 7:00pm

Who knew that Rice University employs the same lawyer as Roger Clemens, ExxonMobil, Enron's accountants and Anna Nicole Smith's ex-husband?Earlier this fall, Rice was served a wrongful death lawsuit in the case of a football player who collapsed and died at practice in 2006. The athlete, freshman Dale Lloyd II, suffered from undiagnosed sickle-cell anemia and died following a workout which allegedly included sixteen 100-yard sprints. Rice's reaction to the lawsuit was to bring in Houston's own celebrity attorney, Rusty Hardin, to arrange the university's legal defense.

The name Rusty Hardin ought to ring a few bells, and it should raise a few questions about how far Rice will go to win a legal case. The Wall Street Journal recently stated that Hardin is "slicker than deer guts on a doorknob," a reputation he does not try to disavow. Hardin's motto, posted on his Web site, is simple and slimy: "I worship at the shrine of juries."

He also kowtows to fame, however. Hardin was a central figure in the Anna Nicole Smith case, in which Smith claimed the inheritance of the rich old oil tycoon, J. Howard Marshall II, whom she had married a year before his death. (In an uncommonly principled stand, Hardin fought against Anna Nicole.) Hardin was also the principal defense counsel for accounting firm Arthur Andersen after that company cooked the books for Enron.

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Hardin's most famous client, however, is undoubtedly former New York Yankees and Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens. There are probably only a couple dozen people left on Earth who deny that Clemens took steroids, and Hardin is one of them. Hardin's stand in defense of Clemens after the pitcher's disastrous appearance in Congress was almost laughable to watch, though it must have been very profitable indeed. Even when the contortions of the case required Hardin to cross-examine his own ex-client (New York Yankees pitcher, Andy Pettitte), he did not flinch at the ethical questions the situation raised. He had to keep working for Clemens. As ESPN reporter Lester Munson pointed out, the lawyer didn't want to "lose a famous client with unlimited funds."

"Unlimited funds" seems to be a prerequisite for hiring Rusty Hardin. Outside of Clemens and the J. Howard Marshall fortune, the defense attorney's other hot-shot clients include Houston Rockets point guard Rafer Alston, accused of starting a fight at a New York night club, Rockets point guard Steve Francis, accused of driving drunk, Lakewood Church Pastor Victoria Osteen, accused of assaulting a flight attendant while flying first-class to her winter home in Aspen, Colo., and a whole list of oil firms.

On Hardin's online client list, two names stand out from the celebrities, corporations and troubled athletes. One is Ruggles Restaurant, which Hardin represents because he loves their sandwiches, and the other is Rice University. According to Hardin's Web site, "We regularly represent Rice University in various civil lawsuits, and they provide some of the more enjoyable work we do. There is a reason that college is primarily for the very young."

The fact that Hardin has a near-perfect record in court means that the family of former Rice football player Dale Lloyd will likely not see a penny of damages, regardless of whether they deserve to. Rice can now share the assurance, along with Hardin clients ExxonMobil and Osteen Ministries, that it is immune to legal challenges.

But at what cost? What have we traded for our invincible defense attorney? A lot of students' tuition bills will this year be headed for the bank account of Houston's slickest, richest celebrity lawyer. We had better hope that the sacrifice of our money - and dignity - is worth it.

Brian Reinhart is a Wiess College sophomore.

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