National Law Journal, Others Report on Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
September 21, 2023 – The National Law Journal (NLJ) reports on a lawsuit from Brewer client Julia Rix against Polsinelli law firm. The lawsuit alleges that Rix was “sexually harassed by two senior firm shareholders and that when she reported the misconduct, Polsinelli ‘retaliated’ by terminating her employment,” according to the NLJ.
As reported, “The plaintiff, Julia Rix, claims that she was ‘repeatedly hounded’ by the two shareholders who ‘insisted on late-night rendezvous, communicated their sexual interest in her, and forced unwanted physical intimacy’ over her two years of work at the firm. She filed suit last Friday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, seeking $20 million.
The lawsuit was filed against Polsinelli and the shareholders, referenced in the suit as Dov Scherzer, a senior technology and privacy attorney, and Gabriel Dabiri, leader of the firm’s private credit and cross-border finance practice and the firm’s New York office managing partner.”
The NLJ article was preceded by reports in the ABA Journal, Above the Law, and Law 360.
ABA Journal Reports on Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Polsinelli
Sept. 19, 2023 – The American Bar Association (ABA) Journal reports on a lawsuit by Brewer client Julia Rix against Polsinelli, accusing the firm and two of its partners of sexual harassment. According to the article, “A former international corporate attorney at Polsinelli has alleged that she experienced ‘callous gaslighting’ and retaliation by the law firm when she complained about sexual harassment by two influential senior partners.”
The article continues, “In a $20 million lawsuit filed Sept. 15, plaintiff Julia I. Rix said she was ‘repeatedly hounded’ by the two male partners who wanted her to join them for after-hours drinks and hotel meetings. She was also forced ‘to endure salacious comments about her appearance’ and subjected to an unwanted kiss in ‘one sordid episode,’ the suit alleges.” As reported, Rix’s suit, filed in Washington, D.C., civil court, alleges breach of contract, violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, violations of Washington, D.C., human rights law, and infliction of emotional distress.
Brewer partner William A. Brewer III said in a statement to the ABA Journal: “Like many other women in the legal industry, our client claims she was subjected to unwanted sexual harassment at the hands of senior leaders in the firm. Our client believes that Polsinelli not only failed to protect her but revictimized her by failing to properly investigate her allegations. When our client bravely stepped forward to report the abuse she endured, she claims the firm did the unimaginable: immediately terminated her employment. She filed this matter to lay bare a culture of harassment that has victimized many in the workplace and has been intentionally shielded from public view. That ends today.”
Click here to read the full article.
FOX News Reports on NRA Lawsuit Against ATF, DOJ
July 3, 2023 – Fox News reported today on a lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association of America against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") and others over a rule regulating stabilizing braces for pistols.
As reported, Brewer client the NRA is challenging the controversial “pistol brace rule” that impacts millions of America’s gun owners - subjecting them to fines and penalties.
As the report states, "NRA argues in its complaint that the rule is unconstitutional, as the ATF reverses its long-standing position that pistol braces do not transform pistols into rifles subject to onerous registration and taxation requirements under the National Firearms Act."
"The NRA is pursuing every possible avenue in defense of its law-abiding members and their constitutional freedoms," William A. Brewer III, counsel to the NRA, told Fox News. "Our members should be free of the threat of enforcement of this presumptively unlawful rule. We are confident that we will prevail in obtaining the same relief for them that has already been granted to members of other gun rights groups."
Read more here.
Law 360 Interviews Will Brewer on Impacts of ABA Opinion
June 20, 2023 -- Law360 quoted Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors Senior Associate Will Brewer in an article about recent American Bar Association guidance that outlines the role of non-attorneys in client intake.
The ethics opinion states that in regards to client intake, paralegals can collect basic information, handle conflict checks, identify if the matter is in an attorney’s specialty area, answer questions about fees and representation, and collect a client’s signature. Brewer said that he hopes the opinion encourages firms to keep lawyers involved in the client onboarding process.
"Our philosophy has always been to have our lawyers in the pivot — directing retention efforts, client activities and the pursuit of every positive outcome," Brewer said.
Brewer also commented, “Everything is custom-designed, depending on the needs of the client.” He added, "at our firm, attorneys are ultimately responsible. They provide oversight and direction — managing the process from the beginning. We view that commitment as an investment in our professionalism and client service.”
The Daily Wire Reports on Legal Challenge to ATF "Pistol Brace Rule"
June 7, 2023 – The Daily Wire reports that Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America ("NRA") filed a motion to intervene in a legal challenge to the pistol brace rule promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”).
The NRA seeks to intervene in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, to obtain injunctive relief stopping the ATF from enforcing its rule – which reverses its long-standing position that pistol braces do not transform pistols into rifles subject to onerous registration and taxation requirements under the National Firearms Act.
As the Daily Wire reports, the NRA eventually hopes to get a permanent injunction against the rule. The organization previously backed a lawsuit in North Dakota, filed in February, challenging the ATF’s pistol brace rule.
“The NRA has consistently opposed this arbitrary attack on law-abiding gun owners on multiple fronts,” said NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre. “The NRA is a leader in the largest and most aggressive legal challenge to this action, and now aims to intervene in the Texas lawsuit. We are pursuing relief to protect our members – and bring a halt to this attack on their freedom.”
Law360: 18 States Want High Court To Take NRA Blacklisting Suit
April 6, 2023 — Law360 reports that Montana and 17 other states are "lining up behind the National Rifle Association at the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to take up the gun group's appeal arguing that a probe into NRA-affiliated insurers and statements from a former New York official about the reputational harm of associating with the group violated its constitutional rights."
The report states that the attorneys general filed an amicus brief on April 4, which asks the court to correct a Second Circuit decision they say "departed from [the Supreme Court's] clear instruction and gave state officials license to target and crackdown on their political opponents' protected speech."
The NRA, which is represented by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, filed suit in 2018 against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) and then-DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo. The NRA contends the parties took aim at the NRA and conspired to use DFS's regulatory power to financially blacklist the NRA – coercing banks and insurers to cut ties with the Association, in order to suppress its pro-Second Amendment speech.
The NRA's First Amendment claims withstood multiple motions to dismiss. But in 2022, after Vullo appealed the trial court's ruling on qualified immunity, the Second Circuit struck down the NRA's claims.
As Law360 reports, in its amicus brief, the states said, "The Second Circuit's decision gives government officials license to financially cripple their political opponents, or otherwise stifle their protected speech — whether those rivals advocate for school choice, abortion rights, religious liberty, environmental protections, or any other politically salient issue."
The NRA is represented by William A. Brewer III, Sarah B. Rogers and Noah Peters of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors and Eugene Volokh.
Read the full report here.
Read the amicus brief here.
Texas Tech University and Two Professors Face Lawsuit Claiming Years of Harassment, Misappropriation of Intellectual Property
March 23, 2023 -- A Texas Tech University (TTU) graduate has filed suit against two of her former professors and the University, claiming she was subjected to years of sexual harassment and degradation, and then denied lucrative patent royalties to which she was entitled. In the complaint, filed by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, Dr. Cara Wessels Wells lays bare the inner workings of a hierarchal system where TTU professors Dr. Samuel Prien and Dr. Lindsay Penrose allegedly take credit for the work of students, subject them to harassment and humiliation, and abscond with royalty payments that belong to younger generations.
The complaint, filed March 22, 2023, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division, states that the professors engaged in a campaign against Dr. Wells that involved “taking credit for her work, interfering with her job prospects, and pursuing financial opportunities to which they were not entitled.” She seeks damages and injunctive relief.
The complaint states, “When Dr. Wells reported their [the professors] behavior to TTU, the University failed to investigate her accusations, offer her protection from Dr. Prien, or honor its commitment with respect to her hard-earned patents.” In November 2022, Dr. Wells filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) a charge of sex discrimination against the University and Drs. Prien and Penrose. In December, she received a Notice of Right to Sue. Among the claims in the lawsuit are Hostile Work Environment and Retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Trade Secret Misappropriation.
“Our client claims she was subjected to years of abuse at Texas Tech – and continues to suffer the loss of financial opportunity,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer and counsel to Dr. Wells. “The University not only failed to take proper action to protect one of its students, but it actively worked to diminish her academic and professional success.”
Front Page News: New York Law Journal Reports on NRA Appeal
March 17, 2023 – The New York Law Journal reports that Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) has appealed the New York Supreme Court's June 2022 order that dismissed the NRA's First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause counterclaims – without discovery – against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The front-page article, “NRA Claims NY Seeks to ‘Crush’ Gun Rights Group in Battle with AG’s Office,” chronicles the NRA’s 58-page appellate brief, including the NRA’s claim that the lower court decision dismissing the counterclaims “practically draws a roadmap for how officials can abuse state power to destroy the ability for non-profits to advocate for positions disfavored by the government.”
According to the article, “Under the lower court’s decision, so long as the targeted entity has committed any technical infraction whatsoever, it would have no redress for the blatant violation of its First Amendment rights,” the brief from Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors partner William A. Brewer III states