Ohio State legal bills hit $1.5M in Strauss case

The legal bills for COLUMBUS —

Ohio State University’s investigation into a former athletics doctor accused of being a sexual predator are piling up: $1.5-million so far.

On Thursday, the university released a list of invoices paid through mid-August to three law firms involved in investigating Richard Strauss, who died by suicide in 2005 at age 67. He treated athletes and students at OSU as a team doctor in athletics and a physician at the student health services center between 1978 and 1998.

The university hired outside counsel in April to investigate allegations against Strauss. So far, about 150 former students, including athletes from 14 varsity sports, have reported firsthand accounts of sexual misconduct by Strauss.

Perkins Coie LLP, which has received $1.38-million of the $1.5-million, is handling the bulk of the investigation. Lawyers for the firm have conducted 335 interviews and searched 520 boxes of university records.

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, which oversees Title IX enforcement, is also investigating the Strauss allegations.

Additionally, Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP was hired by OSU to handle three lawsuits filed by former students over the Strauss allegations. The university is seeking to have the lawsuits dismissed based on statute of limitations grounds. Contact this reporter at 614-2241624 or email Laura.Bischoff@ coxinc.com.