Another outside law firm hired by Michigan over Sherrone Moore scandal

The University of Michigan hired another outside law firm related to the circumstances that led to the ouster of ex-football coach Sherrone Moore and other possible issues within the athletic program . It's at least the third outside firm hired by the university in the past six months as the Ann Arbor-based school pays millions in legal bills while grappling with a series of scandals and internal inquiries involving the athletic department and a university regent . U-M has hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges , university spokesman Paul Corliss confirmed Friday, April 24.

He provided no other information, including when they were hired, what they're charging and what specifically they were hired to do. More: Ex-Michigan assistant Paige Shiver says Sherrone Moore got her pregnant A Weil spokesman did not immediately answer Free Press questions on Friday. Last year, the university hired Jenner & Block amid the Moore scandal.

Moore was fired in December after his executive assistant, Paige Shiver, told university officials they engaged in a longstanding consensual relationship. Moore went to Shiver's home the same day he was fired, an encounter that prompted multiple criminal charges. Moore, 40, recently pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months probation.

But in multiple statements, Shiver contends others at the university knew about the affair far before Moore's dismissal. After initially hiring Jenner & Block to examine what happened with Moore, university leaders confirmed expanding the scope of the inquiry to explore the entire culture of the athletic department. Invoices obtained by the Free Press in March showed U-M has paid Jenner & Block at least $6 million for their work.