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[ Office Overview ] [ Office Organization ] [ Contact List /Client Assignments ] [ Mission ] ] [ Primary DAS Statutes/Administrative Rules ] [ Legal Resources on the Internet ] [ DAS Directives ]

Office of Chief Legal Counsel

Theresa Schaefer, Chief Legal Counsel
30 E. Broad St. Suite 3940, Columbus, Ohio 43215-3414
Telephone: (614) 644-1773, Fax: (614) 752-6557

Mission Statement

The mission of the Office of Chief Legal Counsel is, first and foremost, to provide accurate and timely legal advice and information to the Governor, the Director and the Divisions of the Department of Administrative Services (staff).

The Office of Chief Legal Counsel supports the mission of the Department of Administrative Services by providing services to advance and protect the legal responsibilities and rights of the department through the development of solutions designed to minimize legal liabilities.

Office Overview

The Office of Chief Legal Counsel sees preventive counseling as one of its major roles and seeks to provide timely and effective legal advice in order to prevent legal issues from occurring. The Chief Legal Counsel also serves as the department’s Chief Ethics Officer. Full legal services are provided and include assisting the Attorney General in trial preparation and discovery, advising on administrative rules and statutory requirements and providing recommendations on procurement, construction management and labor and human resources matters. Components of our services include:

• Responsive legal advice
• Proactive/preventative legal services
• Client self-service tools, such as standardized contract terms, standardized procedures
• Compliance Training
• Ethics Advice

Office Organization

The Office of the Chief Legal Counsel is structured as follows: Chief Legal Counsel, four Associate Counsels, and an assistant for administrative support. Work assignments are based on a variety of considerations, including client assignments, subject matter expertise and workload. In order to facilitate the provision of legal services, primary clients and subject areas have been assigned to each attorney. The primary client assignments are listed below:

Counsel Contact List and Client Assignments

Theresa Schaefer, Chief Legal Counsel and Ethics Officer
Primary Clients: Director's Office, DAS Senior Management Team Administrative Support Division

Cheryl Nester, Deputy Chief Counsel
Primary Clients: Administrative Support Division – Office of Employee Services; Human Resources Division

Christine Kinworthy, Associate Counsel
Primary Client: Office of Information Technology

Richard Scott, Associate Counsel
Primary Client: General Services Division

Darren Shulman, Associate Counsel
Primary Clients: Public records; General Services Division – Records Management; Equal Opportunity Division

Kristen Rankin, Labor Counsel
Primary Client: Office of Collective Bargaining

DAS Directives
The Department of Administrative Services issues directives, providing uniform, statewide policies in matters regarding human resources, procurement, construction and general services. Matters of interest to a specialized audience and matters that do not rise to the level of statewide policy matters are addressed in DAS payroll letters, clarification letters, procedure memoranda or operations manuals and other DAS booklets, brochures and publications.

If you desire a hard copy or if you have questions regarding any of these directives, please direct your uestions to the Office of Chief Legal Counsel at (614) 644-1773.

Primary DAS Statutes and Administrative Rules

Investment and Governance Division and Service Delivery Division
Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Chapter 125

Equal Employment Opportunity Division
Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Chapters 122.71, 125.81

• Equal Employment Opportunity
  Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapters123:1-49
• Construction Compliance
  Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapters 123:2
• Minority Business Enterprise
  Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapters 123:2-15
• Encouraging Diversity, Growth & Equity (Edge)
  Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapters 123:2-16

General Services Division
Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Chapters 123, 125, 153

• Construction
  Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 153:1
• Energy Consumption
  Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 123:4-1
• Purchasing
  Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) OAC Chapter 123:5-1

Human Resources Division
Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Chapters 124, 4117

• Civil Service
  Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) OAC Chapter 123:1

Office of Collective Bargaining
Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) OAC Chapter 123:7

Legal Resources on the Internet

Service, Support, Solutions for Ohio Government