In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Omar Syed discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
Texas Lawbook: What has been your best day working at Rice?
Omar Syed: In early 2024, for some reason, the DJs on KTRU — 96.1 FM, our campus radio station — thought it was a smart idea to interview me on air. I spent an hour answering the host’s questions, spinning my endless supply of 1980s and 1990s hits, riffing on my professional path to Rice and soaking in the vibes of the quintessential college radio studio. Even though I was wearing a suit, they didn’t kick me out. It was a blast.
Lawbook: What are the factors you consider when deciding about hiring outside counsel?
Syed: Brevity, intellect and understanding of higher education.
Lawbook: What does outside counsel need to know about you?
As a former lawyer for a public university system, I know what you charge my public-university counterparts for identical work. I review every outside counsel invoice we receive.
My nonprofit university cares viscerally about its students, faculty and well-earned reputation. Every dollar I spend on outside counsel might be a dollar spent to help a student of ours afford college, so bill us wisely.
I’m loyal to excellent, low-key work — not law firms. If you’re pitching your work to me individually, I’ll listen. If you bring two or three other lawyers to your pitch Zoom, I might not. I expect my in-house team to be the very best university lawyers in America and to know our campus fluently.
Lawbook: How is AI impacting your own work your collaboration with outside counsel?
Syed: So far, it is impacting it only modestly. There is no substitute for a human’s judgment and wisdom, or a human’s capacity to admit and learn from errors.
Lawbook: What am I not asking that I should be asking?
Syed: What is my favorite sports team and why does that matter? The Pittsburgh Steelers. It matters because, as an organization, it almost always does the right thing — even when it doesn’t win.
Click here to read the Lawbook profile of Omar Syed.