Vault Names Brewer to 2026 “Top 150 Under 150” List
July 16, 2025 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors has been named to Vault's 2026 "Top 150 Under 150" list of leading small and midsize law firms.
The annual list recognizes firms with 150 lawyers or less that "deliver big results."
As reported, “To determine the Top 150 Under 150, Vault first developed a list of the best-known and most sought-after U.S. firms with 150 attorneys or fewer. Editorial and research teams pored through Vault survey data, news stories, trade journals, and other legal publications; spoke with lawyers in the field; and reviewed other published rankings. Vault editors also assessed each firm for prestige, quality of life, and professional growth opportunities and then narrowed down the results to come up with a list of 150 law firms known for providing top-notch service and delivering big results.”
The Brewer firm was also named to Vault's 2025, 2023, and 2019 "Top 150 Under 150" lists.
Above the Law reported on the national award, stating that Brewer was among the most "recognizable" firms on the list. Read the report: The Top 150 Under 150: Vault Ranks The Best Small, Boutique, And Midsize Firms (2026) - Above the Law
See the firm’s Vault profile: Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors | Company Profile - Vault
Workplace Fairness Files Amicus Curiae in Support of Dr. Cara Wessels Wells’ Supreme Court Petition Urging Title VII Protections for Unpaid Workers
July 11, 2025 — In an important show of support for workplace justice, Workplace Fairness, a leading national nonprofit fighting for the dignity and rights of all workers, filed an amicus curiae brief supporting Dr. Cara Wessel Wells in her civil rights Petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dr. Wells, represented by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, is a scientist and entrepreneur who alleges she was pushed out of a Texas Tech University business accelerator after reporting sexual misconduct by her supervisor in the program, then denied Title VII protection because she wasn’t paid for her workplace contributions.
In June, Dr. Wells turned to the Supreme Court to urge it to declare what should be clear-federal civil rights laws protect all those who " work"- regardless of whether the compensation is money or other benefits. The Petition asks the Court to strike down the Fifth Circuit’s “remuneration” rule, which categorically excludes workers whose pay is not money from Title VII’s reach.
“The brief by Workplace Fairness powerfully underscores the critical issue at stake: denying Title VII protections to unpaid workers leaves countless individuals exposed to workplace harassment and retaliation without recourse,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, and lead counsel to Dr. Wells. “Their advocacy reinforces our client’s position that the Supreme Court should close this gap and ensure that federal civil rights laws protect all workers — regardless of pay.”
“The remuneration rule creates an artificial barrier to civil rights protections — one that is at odds with both Title VII’s purpose and today’s workplace realities,” said William A. Brewer IV, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, and counsel to Wells. “Civil rights should not hinge on compensation. We urge the Court to clarify the law on this important federal issue.”
Dr. Wells served as a mentor in Texas Tech University’s business accelerator program in 2022. After speaking out about alleged sexual misconduct, she was abruptly excluded from the program and subjected to retaliation. Because she did not receive a paycheck, the Fifth Circuit ruled she was not legally an “employee” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act — stripping her of protection.
The Workplace Fairness brief warns that excluding such workers — interns, fellows, volunteers — from federal protections “creates a dangerous loophole.” The Fifth Circuit’s decision, it argues, “encourages employers to reclassify labor to avoid accountability,” subverting Title VII’s central purpose: eradicating workplace discrimination.
“This is a civil rights crisis. The uneven application of federal civil rights laws creates disparate impacts for similarly situated workers—an outcome that is clearly not just,” said Brewer III. “We applaud Workplace Fairness’ important recognition and advocacy of Dr. Wells’ petition and echo their call to the Court to weigh in on this critical issue.”
Read more here:
Workplace Fairness Press Release
Brewer Client Former CFO Files Suit Alleging Corporate Valuation Fraud by CBIZ/Marcum and AmeriTex Leadership
July 1, 2025 – A high-stakes lawsuit filed yesterday in federal district court sheds light on how manipulated valuation reports can distort financial outcomes and erode trust across capital markets.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, the case of former AmeriTex CFO Christopher Podlasek v. CBIZ Inc., CBIZ MAG LLC (NYSE:CBZ; formerly Marcum LLP) exposes how valuations can be used to whitewash unsavory business practices.
At the heart of this suit is an accusation that Marcum knowingly produced a backdated valuation report to justify significantly undercutting the value of Podlasek’s equity in AmeriTex — a major infrastructure supplier whose rapid rise was engineered, in large part, by his leadership. As valuation professionals, CBIZ and its predecessors are specifically charged with upholding fair valuation practices that underpin both private and public markets.
According to the complaint, “Independent valuations act as the surrogate for arm’s length negotiation in our economy. When that process is corrupted, it undermines the very confidence that underpins our financial markets. This case is not about a difference of opinion. It is about betrayal of duty, distortion of fact, and the failure of a firm that claims to stand for integrity. The public interest demands accountability.”
Podlasek’s legal counsel, William A. Brewer III of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, states: “When a firm like Marcum abandons that responsibility, it undermines the credibility of every arms-length transaction across public and private markets.”
With trillions in public-market assets relying on accurate valuations, each flawed report chips away at investor confidence.
The complaint alleges that Marcum, under pressure from AmeriTex leadership, rubber-stamped financial projections that violated appraisal standards — ultimately valuing the company at $789 million despite earlier internal estimates of up to $3 billion.
Brewer adds, “This case carries significant implications beyond the parties involved. It highlights broader concerns about the integrity of valuation services in private equity, public infrastructure, and capital markets at large.”
This case urges regulators, investors, and industry participants to insist on the highest standards of professional integrity.
Statement from William A. Brewer III on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision on Birthright Citizenship and Nationwide Preliminary Injunctions
June 27, 2025 — Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision may allow President Trump’s Executive Order limiting birthright citizenship to take effect. The Court restricts federal courts from issuing preliminary injunctions that protect others who may be similarly situated as the plaintiffs unless they are a party of the case. This ban on so-called “nationwide” preliminary injunctions will certainly require immediate shifts in constitutional law and litigation.
While the decision may appear to be a short-term procedural win for the administration, this is not a partisan issue; it is a constitutional one. Although full appreciation of the impact will take years, the ruling has surely invited an avalanche of litigation against government actors accused of unconstitutional actions.
By limiting preliminary injunctions to only the parties before the court, the ruling effectively guts a tool typically used to check alleged government overreach. Millions of Americans may now be forced to file individual suits or rely upon lengthy class certification processes, which typically take months or even years.
Our firm has seen firsthand how government power can be weaponized to silence dissent. In our successful representation of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) against the Cuomo Administration’s financial blacklisting campaign, we confronted — and defeated — a targeted effort to punish disfavored speech. That victory, a unanimous 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court (National Rifle Association v. Vullo), underscores the critical role of the courts in safeguarding individual rights.
The Court’s ruling today confirms how fragile those protections can be, and how urgently they must be defended. Make no mistake: this decision is a call to action.
With district courts now barred from providing “nationwide protection,” mass litigation seems likely. Lawyers and advocacy groups will mobilize — through representational lawsuits, coordinated individual suits, and expedited procedural strategies, federal dockets will now be quite crowded.
Read more here.
Fort Worth Report: Brewer Storefront Filing in Keller ISD Voting Rights Lawsuit
June 22, 2025 – The Fort Worth Report reports that Brewer Storefront filed a brief on behalf of plaintiff Claudio Vallejo in opposition to the Keller Independent School District's attempt to dismiss a federal voting rights lawsuit.
Originally filed on February 14, 2025, the case is in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth. The lawsuit by Vallejo, a Hispanic parent with two children enrolled in the district, seeks to replace Keller ISD's at-large voting system with cumulative voting, "a more representative alternative" in which voters can allocate votes to one or more candidates. The lawsuit alleges that the at-large election system violates the Voting Rights Act and U.S. Constitution by diluting the political voice of Hispanic voters.
“A Hispanic candidate has not been elected to the board in 25 years,” the brief filed on June 12 argues. “This lack of representation leaves Hispanic families without a voice to champion the needs of their children.”
The article reports that the plaintiff states that the proposed cumulative model would allow geographically dispersed minority groups to combine their votes and elect representatives aligned with their views. The article states that Vallejo argues that relying on geographic compactness ignores modern community patterns and that current legal precedent is outdated.
“This case seeks to ensure that the voices of Hispanic voters are heard and accounted for in school board elections,” said William A. Brewer III, counsel for Vallejo. “Cumulative voting offers a constitutionally sound, locally empowered solution that aligns with the values for which the Voting Rights Act was adopted.”
The Storefront is the Brewer firm's community service legal affiliate.
Read more here.
Brewer Foundation President Joins Northwestern University Counselor Advisory Board
June 17, 2025 — Brewer Foundation President Ian Shaw has been selected to join the Northwestern University Counselor Advisory Board (CAB), an initiative focused on supporting underrepresented student populations and guiding them through the college admissions process.
Hosted by Northwestern’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, CAB partners with high school counselors and college-access advocates to increase higher education opportunities for students facing systemic barriers. As a member of the program’s second cohort, Shaw will participate in a two-day program on Northwestern’s Evanston campus next spring, where he will collaborate with admissions staff and campus leaders.
In his role at the Brewer Foundation, Shaw oversees the Future Leaders Program (FLP), an academic and leadership development program serving more than 200 students, ages 12 to 18, from urban communities within the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). The FLP provides year-round academic instruction, leadership training, and cultural enrichment to prepare its “future leaders” for success in college and beyond.
Currently, two FLP alumni from the Class of 2023—undergraduates Erica Salazar and Raul Lopez—are enrolled at Northwestern. They will be joined this fall by Lizbeth Ojeda, a 2025 FLP graduate.
“I’m excited to deepen the Brewer Foundation’s partnership with Northwestern University,” Shaw said. “Our commitment to expanding college access for FLP students advances the mission of Northwestern’s CAB initiative. One of the most rewarding aspects of the FLP experience is seeing our graduates go on to attend great universities such as Northwestern and realize their higher education aspirations.”
Plaintiff Files Opposition in Landmark Voting Rights Act Challenge Against Keller ISD
Dallas, Texas…June 13, 2025 – Brewer Storefront filed a federal court brief (“Vallejo’s opposition”) on behalf of Claudio Vallejo – a Hispanic parent in Keller ISD – in opposition to the district’s attempt to dodge a landmark voting rights case.
Vallejo’s case seeks to overhaul the district’s at-large voting system, asserting it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) and the U.S. Constitution. The Storefront is the community service legal affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.
Filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, Vallejo’s brief contends that the current election system dilutes the votes of Hispanic and other minority voters, preventing them from electing candidates who represent their interests. Despite the fact that Hispanic students constitute nearly a quarter of the district’s enrollment, not a single Hispanic candidate has been elected to the Board in over two decades.
At the heart of Vallejo’s opposition is a complaint that argues that the so-called “Gingles factors” established by the 1986 U.S. Supreme Court Case Thornburg v. Gingles as a standard to prove a VRA violation are outdated, particularly the requirement that a minority group be sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district.
Vallejo argues that the geographic “compactness” requirement for majority-minority districts should not apply outside redistricting cases – particularly when the remedy sought is not the creation of new district lines, but implementation of a cumulative voting system.
This alternative voting system, expressly permitted under the Texas Education Code since 1995, would allow minority voters to elect candidates of their choice by pooling support across geographic lines. Under the cumulative system, a voter may cast the number of votes equal to the number of seats up in an election for one or more candidate in any combination. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes for the open positions are elected.
The filing also outlines predictable educational disparities among student subgroups: only 51% of Hispanic students in KISD met grade-level benchmarks on state exams, compared to 69% of white students. Vallejo’s filing notes the social science data that a lack of representation on the school board contributes to an ongoing failure to address the needs of minority students.
“This case seeks to ensure that the voices of Hispanic voters are heard and accounted for in school board elections,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and counsel to Mr. Vallejo. “Cumulative voting offers a constitutionally sound, locally empowered solution that aligns with the values for which the Voting Rights Act was adopted.”
Vallejo’s opposition challenges the district’s reliance on outdated precedent.
The complaint asserts that Gingles should only apply to redistricting cases, and notes that the KISD case is not a redistricting case.
“Gingles should only apply to redistricting cases,” the filing contends. “This is not a redistricting case…cumulative voting would allow minority viewpoints to have a voice in KISD.”
Cumulative voting will give underrepresented groups in KISD greater power to elect candidates aligned with their interests. Such voting systems have been adopted by other local school districts, including Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD.
The legal action includes claims under the 14th and 15th Amendments, alleging that the Board’s continued use of a discriminatory voting system reflects intentional racial bias. Vallejo points to recent actions by the Board – including a now-abandoned plan to split the district along socioeconomic and racial lines – as further evidence of discriminatory intent.
Plaintiff asks the Court to deny the district’s motion to dismiss, allow the case to proceed, and grant appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief to reform the election system.
In requesting that the Court deny Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Vallejo argues that this case represents a natural evolution of civil rights litigation – one aimed at adapting the Voting Rights Act to a changing America.
“Today’s innovative argument is tomorrow’s binding precedent,” the filing concludes.
About Brewer Storefront
Brewer Storefront is the community-service legal affiliate of the national litigation firm of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors with offices in Dallas and New York. Founded in 1995, the Brewer Storefront tackles local and national issues, providing legal assistance to a wide range of individuals, business and community entities in need.
The Storefront has successfully challenged violations of the Voting Rights Act on behalf of other communities of interest in previous actions. Notably, in 2015, the Storefront settled a lawsuit brought against the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District on behalf of Hispanic voters and a cumulative voting system was established as a result. There are currently two Hispanic trustees on the school district’s board.
The Storefront also successfully resolved Voting Rights Act cases with the Lewisville Independent School District in 2023, Richardson Independent School District in January 2019, and the Grand Prairie Independent School District in 2014. All districts now utilize remodeled voting systems. The Storefront also secured trial victories in Voting Rights Act cases against the Irving Independent School District in 2014, the City of Farmers Branch in 2012, and the City of Irving in 2009. Those lawsuits paved the way for the formation of new voting systems and the election of minority candidates.
Supreme Court Petition Challenges Federal Rule That Denies Civil Rights to Millions of Unpaid Workers
June 6, 2025 — In a direct challenge to what critics call a "legal loophole," through which numerous meritorious claims have fallen, Dr. Cara Wessels Wells petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to extend Title VII protections to unpaid workers – potentially reshaping civil rights law.
Wells, a scientist and entrepreneur, alleges she was subjected to sexual harassment, retaliation, and abrupt exclusion from Texas Tech University’s business accelerator program – where she served as a mentor – after speaking out about the misconduct. The district court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled she was not legally an “employee” because her work in 2022 was unpaid.
At the heart of her petition is a challenge to the Fifth Circuit’s application of the “threshold-remuneration” test, a rigid rule that categorically bars unpaid workers from Title VII protection. The petition argues that the rule contradicts both the text and intent of federal civil rights law and is inconsistent with how several other circuits treat unpaid employment relationships.
In the petition, received by the Court on June 4, 2025, Wells warns of the national consequences of the current circuit split:
“An unpaid volunteer firefighter in Tennessee (Sixth Circuit) may be able to prove she is an employee and hold her harasser accountable under Title VII, whereas her counterpart just across state lines in Mississippi (Fifth Circuit) could be categorically denied any recourse... Such an outcome is intolerable under a comprehensive federal civil rights statute and demands this Court’s intervention.”
Brewer partner and lead counsel for Wells, William A. Brewer III, says, “Protection from discrimination in the workplace should not hinge on whether or not you happen to draw a paycheck. The Fifth Circuit has turned Title VII into a privilege for the paid, not a right for the working.”
Wells filed her original complaint in March 2023, claiming she was subjected to years of sexual harassment and degradation at Texas Tech, and then denied compensation and patent royalties to which she was entitled. In the complaint, Wells describes the inner workings of a hierarchical system where TTU professors Dr. Samuel Prien and Dr. Lindsay Penrose allegedly took credit for her work, subjected her to harassment and humiliation, and retaliated when she complained to school leadership. Thereafter, the University shielded the professors from accountability.
While the Second, Fifth, and other circuits require financial compensation as a threshold for employment protection, the Sixth and Ninth Circuits instead apply a common-law agency test, examining the relationship’s totality. Wells' petition urges the Supreme Court to resolve this doctrinal rift and affirm that Title VII’s protections extend to those whose roles may be unpaid but whose labor is real.
Wells’ case is particularly timely given the prevalence of unpaid labor in internships, academic research, startups, and public service. Legal scholars call the remuneration rule “unduly rigid” and warn it leaves millions of non-traditional workers without recourse when harmed.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide later this year whether to take up the case.
Joining Mr. Brewer in representing Wells is Brewer partner Will Brewer IV and attorneys Jed Sexton and Lucia (Lucy) Arbor.