Harvard official accused of ethics breach as it's claimed his law firm was paid $42million over 12 years he sat on school's board of directors

A former member of Harvard University's board of directors has been named in a pair of anonymous ethics complaints made about the Ivy League's payment of $42million to his law firm during his tenure on the governing board.

According to a New York Post report, the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers and the state’s attorney general have been sent formal complaints accusing former board member William Lee of a 'possible conflict of interest by trustee/director with pecuniary interest in service provider to Harvard.'

Lee is a partner at Wilmer Hale, which between the years of 2011 and 2022 - when Lee was a member of the Harvard corporation - billed the school $42million. 

The Post says it is in possession of both complaints. 

Bill Lee is a partner at Wilmer Hale, which between the years of 2011 and 2022 - when Lee was a member of the Harvard corporation - billed the school $42million.

''Considering the vast resources entrusted to Harvard as a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation, do the circumstances with Bill Lee and Wilmer Hale raise questions about whether Harvard and its board have the necessary corporate governance procedures to avoid conflicts of interest, conflicts of duty or similar issue,' read one of the complaints

The complaint sent to the state AG's office says in part: 'Considering the vast resources entrusted to Harvard as a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation, do the circumstances with Bill Lee and Wilmer Hale raise questions about whether Harvard and its board have the necessary corporate governance procedures to avoid conflicts of interest, conflicts of duty or similar issue.'

Wilmer Hale has worked with the prestigious institution on a number of high-profile cases over the years - most recently assisting former president Claudine Gay prepare for her ultimately disastrous appearance before Congress as it probed reports of anti-Semitism on campus in the wake of October 7.

During the December testimony, which the school's newspaper reported Lee specifically helped Gay prepare for, the academic infamously joined her counterparts at the University of Pennsylvania and MIT in saying that calling for the death of Jews on campus would be considered harassment depending upon the 'context.'

Wilmer Hale is well known for advising high-profile clients ahead of testimony in Congress - among them Mark Zuckerberg, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and Richard Nixon.

But the preparation they gave Gay seemingly fell far short of the moment. She would resign from her post at the head of the university several weeks later.

'Lee's influence at the University raises the prospect that no other firms were even considered for the work,' wrote The Crimson.

Lee graduated from Harvard in 1972, before attending Cornell University for his JD and MBA degrees. 

In addition to his six year stint on the Board of Overseers from 2022 to 2008, Lee was a member of the Harvard Corporation from 2010 to 2022. He the was a senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation from 2014 to 2022.

He was honored, in 2022, by the school with the Harvard Medal for Extraordinary Service to the University. 

Wilmer Hale is well known for advising high-profile clients ahead of testimony in Congress - among them Mark Zuckerberg, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and Richard Nixon - they also prepped former President Claudine Gay for her disastrous testimony in December

Lee's firm also served as Harvard's outside counsel throughout the landmark affirmative action case 'Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard,' which was first filed in 2014.

Lee served as Harvard's outside counsel during the trial court phase of the case, which lasted until an initial verdict was rendered in 2019.

In 2023, the high-profile case was decided by the Supreme Court against Harvard. 

According to Bloomberg, Harvard shelled out more than $27million in legal fees for the case they ultimately lost.

The anonymous complaint claims that as a 'member/chairperson of the board, Bill Lee oversaw the Harvard officers and departments that normally manage relationships with outside law firms, such as the university’s general counsel.'

And despite paying millions for legal work done by Wilmer Hale in the years between 2011 and 2019, the board consistently answered 'No' to a prompt on its annual disclosures to the state that asks if any trustee had 'a material financial interest' that was not reported as compensation.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Harvard University and Wilmer Hale for comment on the anonymous complaints.