Florida Polytechnic University, which last fall eliminated its Office of General Counsel supposedly to save money, debuted its replacement on April 30: a DeSantis-aligned anti-abortion lobbyist-lawyer with no experience called “University Counsel” who left trustees including Ilya Shapiro — themselves appointed by DeSantis — so frustrated by her lack of preparation that they declined to take action on the $1,800 tuition increase.
This is not normal.
A complaint filed with the Florida Bar, which regulates lawyer conduct, covers both the meeting and circumstances of the unqualified but politically-connected lawyer taking the job. Read the redacted complaint here.
Grasping for excuses, the unprepared DeSantis-fan at one point told Trustee Shapiro an excuse that a statute he'd asked about "was modified significantly in 2025." (It wasn't.) WATCH:
The President of Florida University President eventually apologized to a visibly-frustrated Iyla Shapiro and other Trustees after the disastrous Board meeting in which trustees refused to vote. On the agenda was an $1800 tuition increase, meeting opened with 4 students making public comments about hardship.
The new in-house counsel arrived smiling mid-discussion nearly an hour into the meeting, which the Board Chair interrupted to announce "you come to us with very high praise.” The Board Chair’s broad smiles turned to dear-in-the-headlights shock as the DeSantis-fan "University Counsel" invented a state rule against phased-in tuition increases that one trustee called "odd."
When asked to explain, rambled about her invented rule like a student who hasn't done the reading. (The Florida Board of Governors approved a two-phase tuition increase in 2025 [WATCH at 1:17].) No one from the university either knew or tried to correct her on her made-up rule. WATCH:
Trustees ultimately declined to vote on the $1800 tuition increase, a delay that increased uncertainty for students.
Last October, President eliminated Office of General Counsel and fired 4 people, saying the move would reduce costs by moving to an "outsourcing" model, but new "University Counsel" has essentially the same responsibilities.
The Bar Complaint covers both the meeting and the circumstances of her hiring, which positioned the university’s primary in-house lawyer as being an employee of the President.
The full meeting is available at https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/4-30-26-florida-polytechnic-university-board-of-trustees-meeting/