Cornell University may have its work cut out for it should it ever find itself in a position similar to the one Oberlin College faced after students accused a local bakery of racism for trying to stop a shoplifter.
That’s because Cornell’s recently appointed general counsel Donica Thomas Varner is Oberlin’s current general counsel and was responsible for defending the college during the disastrous Gibson Bakery scandal, which resulted in a $44 million libel verdict against Oberlin. Legal Insurrection’s William A. Jacobson, a clinical professor of law and director of Cornell’s Securities Law Clinic, reported last week that Varner was named Cornell’s new general counsel, even though she is currently best known for sending an inflammatory email criticizing the jury’s decision to award Gibson’s Bakery $11.2 million in compensatory damages. The email was sent after this decision but before a separate trial awarded the bakery an additional $33 million.
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