By: Theresa Defino
Cohen Seglias partner Paul Thaler was interviewed at the Office of Research Integrity 2017 Conference by Report on Research Compliance. Their piece on him, “‘The Key to Not Getting Sued’ and Other Tales from a Foremost Misconduct Attorney,” is featured in their September 2017 edition.
Sometimes they weep. They curse. They can’t pay. They fear for their futures. The wailing and woe-ing is all in a day’s work when you’re an attorney defending individuals accused of committing research misconduct or other misdeeds.
Clients who hire Paul Thaler, managing partner in the Washington, D.C.-office of Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC, get someone with 25 years’ experience in ensuring universities “honor” the process that could lead to a finding or exoneration. For the hundreds of accused investigators he has represented, there’s a lot at stake.
But the same is true for universities and other institutions that have to, first, try to prevent misconduct and, second, manage investigations into accusations of wrong-doing. They, too, don’t want the adverse publicity of a “bad scientist” or a lawsuit for how they responded to allegations.