ADVOCATING
Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion carries through into some of our most important cases, from advocating for LGBTQ rights to protecting the sovereignty of Native American tribes and fighting for fair election maps that empower minority voters. Our lawyers and professional staff embrace our values within the firm and advocate for them in the courts.
Leaders in Advocating for LGBTQ Communities
Jenner & Block’s commitment to LGBTQ communities is longstanding and a priority for the firm. Through our Equal Time: LGBT Community Service newsletter, first published in 2001, and our pro bono and other legal work, we strive to promote and support diversity in the workplace and in society as a whole. We recognize that there is still a significant amount of work that must be done, and to that end, our lawyers continue to lead the way in advocacy for the civil rights of LGBTQ communities.
The firm has continued its partnership with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and its Name Change Project, which provides pro bono legal name change services to low-income transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people. Our efforts have resulted in 20 successful name changes, with more on the way. A number of lawyers have contributed to this cause, including Partners Debbie Berman, Jason Bradford, Laurie Edelstein, Andrew Lichtman, Gail Morse, Thomas O’Neill, Ronald Pabis, Precious Jacobs-Perry, Megan Poetzel, Melissa Root, Miwa Shoda, Robert Stauffer, Joe Torres, and Andrew Vail; Special Counsel Jennifer Beach; Associates Alexis Bates, Breana Drozd, Bill Erlain, Rachel Foster, Katie Funderberg, Margaret Hlousek, and Samuel Jahangir; Department Counsel Tim Fuller and Allison Glover; and Work Equity Lawyer Anthony Nguyen.
This year, a firm team filed an amicus brief in Travis County, Texas, in Doe v. Abbott in support of the plaintiffs’ application for a temporary injunction and as part of our pro bono work with Lambda Legal and the ACLU to defend transgender youth rights. In the brief, the plaintiffs challenged the decision of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to follow the directive of Governor Abbott to investigate gender-affirming care for transgender minors as “child abuse” under the Texas Family Code. Special Counsel Ben Halbig and Associate Reanne Zheng took the lead in authoring the brief, supervised by Partner Cliff Berlow. Partners Adam Unikowsky, Mark Davis, and Laurie Edelstein; Associates Steven Tinetti and Chasel Lee; Pro Bono Counsel Nura Maznavi; and Junior Paralegal Grace Liberman assisted.
In a separate amicus brief filed on behalf of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and eight other medical organizations, a firm team argued that policies excluding transgender high school students from participating in sports increase the risk of “anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, engaging in self-injurious behaviors, suicide, substance use, homelessness, and eating disorders among other adverse outcomes.” The team also helped secure a victory on behalf of these organizations in North Carolina’s federal court. The judge ruled that the North Carolina health plan’s exclusion of treatment for gender dysphoria violates the Equal Protection Clause and Title VII, and ordered that the plan must cover medically necessary services for treatment of gender dysphoria. The court also permanently prevented the state from enforcing the exclusion. The team included Partners Howard Suskin, Matthew Cipolla, and Jessie Amunson; Special Counsel D. Matthew Feldhaus; Associates Illyana Green, and Lawrence McMahon; and Paralegal Mary Patston.
Our Lawyers Fight States’ Efforts to Restrict Reproductive Rights
Jenner & Block vigorously advocates for women and diverse communities that would be harmed by laws that threaten reproductive rights.
In the high-stakes case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a team filed an amicus brief urging the US Supreme Court to affirm a lower court’s decision and strike down Mississippi’s law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The pro bono brief focused on the impact of the law on people of color as well as disabled, low-income, Indigenous, and LGBTQ people living in Mississippi and Louisiana.
“Amici have a unique window into the challenges people face when seeking to access abortion, and the additional barriers Mississippi’s 15-week ban will impose on marginalized people. They write to highlight the devastating consequences that will ensue if this Court eliminates the right to abortion,” read the brief, which was written on behalf of reproductive justice advocates.
Following the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson that overturned Roe v. Wade, another team filed a lawsuit in Florida to block implementation of a new state law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and could put doctors in jail for providing essential care beyond that point. The lawsuit, filed in partnership with abortion service providers and civil liberties groups, argues that the law violates the Florida state constitution. It seeks an emergency injunction against the law taking effect.
Partners April Otterberg, Shoba Pillay, Tassity Johnson, and Jessie Amunson lead the teams with assistance from Associates Victoria Hall-Palerm, Reanne Zheng, Sara Crook, Meg Hlousek, Annie Schoenfeldt, Emily Merrifield, Savannah Berger, Sara Stappert, Casey Jedele, and Karolina Bartosik, and Paralegal Fallon McDowell.
Challenging Attempts to Limit Voting Rights for Diverse Communities
In April 2022, the National Law Journal recognized Jenner & Block for being among firms that have “carved out a reputation as defenders of voting rights and opponents of gerrymandering.”
Led by Partner Jessie Amunson, chair of our Election Law and Redistricting Practice, our lawyers took on challenging voters’ rights cases in several states.
In Texas, a team joined the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Disability Rights Texas, and the Texas Civil Rights Project to file a lawsuit opposing a voter suppression bill, SB1. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Texas, the Texas Organizing Project, Workers Defense Action Fund, Register, Educate, Vote, & Use your Power - Texas (REV UP Texas), and OCA of Greater Houston.
These organizations argued that many provisions of the bill violate the Voting Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the US Constitution. The bill would make it virtually impossible for members of the plaintiff organizations to vote, especially communities of color, those who are more comfortable with languages other than English, those with disabilities, and those who have no option but to vote by mail.
Jenner & Block also led legal challenges against gerrymandering in several states, advocating for maps that treat all citizens fairly and equally, regardless of race, party, or region. Partner Zach Schauf led the effort in North Carolina, where a stunning case that reached the Supreme Court of the United States ended decades of disenfranchisement of minority voters.
Fair maps “are about equal opportunity to nominate and elect your preferred candidates in rough proportion to your numbers in the population,” said Partner Sam Hirsch, who was part of the North Carolina team. “We know, historically, that that has not been the case in North Carolina, which has been much to the detriment of communities of color. We always put a focus on that, front and center, in our case. We had a partisan gerrymandering state-constitutional claim right next to a racial vote dilution state-constitutional claim. I think that having them in the case together made both of them stronger.”
The core team in the North Carolina and Texas cases include Partners Jessie Amunson, Zach Schauf, Sam Hirsch, Kali Bracey, Alex Trepp, David Bradford, Ben Bradford, and David Greenwald; and Associates Karthik Reddy, Urja Mittal, and Sophia Cai. Supreme Court assistance in the North Carolina matter was provided by Partners Ian Heath Gershengorn and Adam Unikowsky and Associate Lenny Powell. Critical members of other redistricting teams included Partners Elizabeth Edmonson, Lindsay Harrison, Keri Holleb Hotaling, David Jimenez-Ekman, Tassity Johnson, April Otterberg, Dave Sanders, and Bob Stauffer, along with Department Counsel Adam Caldwell and Associates Huiyi Chen, Rebecca Fate, Deanna Krokos, Claire Lally, Kaitlin Leskovac, Mary Marshall, Brandon Polcik, Andrew Plague, and Allison Tjemsland, and Law Clerk Maria LaBella.
Amicus Brief Urges Ohio Supreme Court to Hear Appeal in High-Profile Case about First Amendment Protections
Jenner & Block filed an amicus brief on behalf of the NAACP and the Ohio State Chapter of the NAACP urging the Ohio Supreme Court to hear Oberlin College’s appeal in Gibson Bros, Inc. et al., v. Oberlin.
Oberlin is seeking to reverse a lower court decision finding the college liable for more than $30 million in damages for allegedly facilitating the distribution of defamatory statements during student protests against a local bakery.
Oberlin students were protesting Gibson’s bakery after a 2016 incident involving an altercation between three Black Oberlin students and an employee of the bakery. The three students were arrested, but not the employee. Oberlin students organized a boycott of Gibson’s bakery to protest, among other things, the use of force against a Black student, the law enforcement response, and other accounts of racial profiling and discrimination involving the bakery. Student activists created fliers expressing outrage over the “assault” and the bakery’s “long account of racial profiling,” and the Student Senate passed a resolution expressing similar sentiments.
Gibson’s sued Oberlin, asserting that the college and its personnel facilitated the distribution of defamatory statements during the protests. The trial court found that, although the students’ chants were constitutionally protected, Oberlin could be liable for supporting the distribution of the allegedly defamatory statements in the flier.
Oberlin has petitioned the Ohio Supreme Court to reverse this ruling and find that those statements fall within the free speech and association protections guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Ohio Constitution.
Jenner & Block’s brief supports Oberlin’s appeal, based on the important constitutional protections that are threatened by the lower court decisions. The brief outlines the historical development of First Amendment principles protecting free speech and political expression, driven by the crucial role that boycott and protest played during the civil rights movement. This history also demonstrates the importance of student organizing, particularly in opposing discriminatory practices or actions taken by private businesses. The brief also notes that civil tort liability has historically been wielded as a weapon by opponents of civil rights to stifle and suppress essential political organizing and alerts the court to the grave implications of this decision.
Partner Jessie Amunson led the team, joined by Partner Ishan Bhabha, Associate Deanna Krokos, Senior Paralegal Cheryl Olson, and Manager of Docketing Services Tyler Edwards.
Jenner & Block Continues Commitment to Protecting Tribal Sovereignty
Our Native American Law Practice has a national reputation for preserving, promoting, and protecting tribal sovereignty. The team is led by and primarily comprises enrolled members and descendants of federally recognized tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Hopland Band of Pomo, the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, and the Navajo Nation. Our team is dedicated to partnering with and empowering tribal governments and leverages their experience as a former tribal councilman, Supreme Court clerks, and former government officials, including the first Native American to serve as a US ambassador and the incoming candidate-elect to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2023-2025).
We represent tribes in some of their most important matters, including securing a landmark 2020 victory for Indian Country before the US Supreme Court in McGirt v. Oklahoma. We have been working hard to defend McGirt since that decision. In 2021, the team further solidified our McGirt win when we successfully opposed over 30 petitions filed by Oklahoma asking the Supreme Court to overrule McGirt.
In 2022, our lawyers argued before the Supreme Court in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta and are currently representing the Cherokee Nation, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and Oneida Nation in Brackeen v. Haaland to oppose the latest attempts to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). In all of these cases, the ramifications for the rights of Native Americans are sweeping, relevant, and increasingly challenged.
The importance of Brackeen v. Haaland was underscored during our Diversity Speaker Series event in recognition of Native American Heritage Month. Partner Charlie Galbraith, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, and Ambassador Keith Harper, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, discussed the case with Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., of the Cherokee Nation and Kimberly Cluff, the General Counsel of California Tribal Families Coalition, a pro bono client of the firm. The participants spoke movingly of how the Indian Child Welfare Act provides vital protections for Indian youth and culture.
Tribe and Energy Utility Join Forces in Historic Partnership
Our team led the way in securing approval for a historic agreement between the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and Southern California Edison. The joint venture marks a significant victory for both Indian Country and utilities.
In the agreement, SCE will upgrade its vital high-voltage transmission link that crosses Morongo Band reservation lands. The tribe was given the option, which it exercised, to participate in financing the project with no increase in cost to SCE's ratepayers. The tribe formed its own transmission company, Morongo Transmission, LLC, to make this investment, acquired a leasehold interest in the transmission project, and became a participating transmission company in the California Independent System Operator.
This type of partnership benefits ratepayers, tribes, and transmission infrastructure buildout and mitigates climate change by enabling California's access to additional renewable power resources.
This was a nearly 10-year process of sometimes challenging negotiations. Jenner & Block’s Energy Practice worked hand-in-glove with Morongo Transmission, Morongo Band's government, and SCE to secure approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which occurred in January 2022, when FERC approved the transmission rates.
Partner Suedeen Kelly, co-chair of our Energy Practice and a former FERC commissioner, and Charlie Galbraith, co-chair of our Native American Law Practice, were at the helm.
