Whether he wants to or not, Louis Freeh and his firm Pepper Hamilton are going to be part of the Paterno family lawsuit against the NCAA. That much was made clear today in a court order denying his motion for a protective order and stay in the lawsuit, which was joined by Penn State.

What this means is that Freeh, who is not a defendant but was subpoenaed, will be required to go through the discovery process of the lawsuit, which will likely involve turning over emails and other evidence along with depositions from Freeh and his investigative team. Freeh and Penn State argued that his services to the university should be protected by attorney-client privilege but the court didn’t buy it.

“Because Pepper Hamilton has failed to make a strong showing that Penn State will succeed on its appeal, neither a stay nor a protective order is warranted,” wrote Judge John Leete. “Because the first element required to warrant a stay has not been met, the Court does not need to address the remaining issues.”

Leete took into account the content of Freeh’s letter of engagement with Penn State when making his ruling, which includes non-attorney-client protected business.

Hopefully, Freeh’s emails are just as fun as the NCAA’s.

You can read the complete ruling below: