The Chandra Law Firm LLC

Every person of conscience should be horrified by the latest attacks by the Trump administration on the lawyers and legal system that are holding him accountable. That includes yesterday's Presidential Memorandum weaponizing the powers of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security against lawyers who oppose the Trump administration’s actions. Every lawyer had better wake up and stand up. See my statement below: "Weaponizing the legal system to intimidate and silence lawyers—particularly those defending civil rights and civil liberties—is a dangerous manipulation of the rule of law and a subversion of democracy. It completely undermines the fundamental principles of justice and erodes trust in the legal system. "The people and institutions of the legal profession—including individual lawyers, law firms, nonprofit organizations, bar associations, courts, and judges—are all the nation has left to prevent authoritarian overreach. They should not be targets of political witch hunts and political retribution. They should not be punished for doing their jobs. And the advocates among us should not be punished for winning. "The nation should reject any attempt by a sitting president to abuse the rules of the legal profession in this way. That kind of action is meant to have a chilling effect across our field, leaving people who have been wronged nowhere to turn for help.? "For 60 years, the Lawyers’ Committee has worked to defend justice and hold those in power accountable when they overstep the bounds of their authority and violate the rule of law. We will not be deterred from our mission. In fact, our mission is even more vital than ever. So, we will redouble our efforts to fight for justice, advance civil rights, and uphold the rule of law.? "We call upon others in the private bar to do the same, starting with calling out these blatant attacks for exactly what they are. We implore lawyers, law firms, and all in the legal profession to find the courage to stand up for the rule of law.? Stand up for your own values.? Stand up for civil rights.? Stand up for each other.? And at least stand up for yourselves." #RuleofLaw #CivilRights #Lawyers #Justice #Democracy Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

What a humiliating move by Paul Weiss. Why would anyone hire a law firm that rolls over this easily in the face of coercive threats and authoritarian pressure? Why would a law firm tie its own hands and commit to some kind of ideological equilibrium in pro bono and other matters? Why is Paul Weiss agreeing to support the Administration's initiatives to the tune of $40 million? Why would anyone sign their name to a statement that says "Our Justice System is betrayed when it is misused to achieve political ends"? This is such a weak and bizarre statement. Shoutout to Perkins Coie and Covington, because this ain't it. EDIT: because this has gotten a lot of attention, I just want to say the views expressed here are my own in my personal capacity.

There come moments where we have to put our careers on the line to live up to our integrity. This is one of those moments. Kudos to Rachel Cohen of Skadden. I hope, expect, and demand that she faces zero retaliation. This is an act of opposing discrimination.

I’ve never been one to be called overly emotional, but today, I couldn’t hold back my tears this morning. Witnessing the dismantling of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has been nothing short of heartbreaking. I wept for the blatant disregard, the lack of appreciation, and the outright disdain for public servants. I mourned the institutional loss of brilliant, dedicated, and passionate attorneys and advocates—people who chose this work to protect and uplift children. I cried for the families and students who turned to us in their most vulnerable moments: the elementary school child restrained and secluded because of their disability; the middle school girl made to feel unsafe by a teacher’s persistent racial comments; the ELL high school boy whose mother fought to have his IEP modified, only for them to face retaliation; the college freshman who was sexually assaulted, only to have her school dismiss her complaints. This is more than just policy changes—it’s the erosion of protections for those who need them most. And today, I am just so sad for them. To my OCR family--thank you for your tireless effort in treating children with the care, compassion, and dignity they deserve. To the families we serve-- I'm sorry that you are a little less protected today than you were yesterday. However, grief is not surrender, and my colleagues will continue to fight for civil rights in education in whichever capacity they can.? *puts on Des’ree’s “You Gotta Be” followed by “I Choose” by India Arie*

Last night, I received the news that I never expected,"your position has been eliminated..." Almost 21 years as a civil rights attorney working tirelessly to ensure students across the US had an equal opportunity to participate in their educational programs. The entire San Francisco Office for Civil Rights was shuttered along with 6 other regional OCR offices throughout the United States. I have no way to tell the nearly 200 recipients that I work with that I'm no longer helping them to bring their websites into compliance to ensure they meet the new Title II regulation requirements because I can't even send a common courtesy external email. (If one of my amazing recipients is reading this, I loved every minute where I spent training you, evaluating your sites and just learning about you and the community that you serve, thank you!) We have 1000's of complaints across the country just sitting in our document management system with no one to investigate, no one to pick up the office phone to provide technical assistance, and no one to just listen or provide an ear to cry into. No one to hold schools and colleges and universities and libraries accountable for their actions and no one to follow up and make sure these actions don't reoccur. So now, 1300 Ed employees including me, dedicated ourselves to the mission of serving students and were just let go. We were treated with no respect. We don't determine curriculum, we don't account for lower student success, and we most assuredly, are not the reason why our government is in debt, trust me, we don't make that much. So if you see a federal employee, please give them a hug, and them give them a job. We are all amazing, intelligent, mission driven, everyday citizens, supporting our families, participating in our communities, shopping at Costco, and just trying to keep a roof over our head. This type of action does not make America great. We need to support the people who actually work for America. There is one line in this article below that is from the Administration that is so degrading and demorilizing. they did not do any type of evaluation of employees, to "keep the best" they just shuttered over half of OCR with no reason. https://lnkd.in/gBR7UgzU

Tens of thousands of American families a year with children in K through higher (including vocational) education will be seriously and permanently harmed by this. Even more, really, because when there is no enforcement, there is noncompliance with the law. There will be increased disability discrimination and failure to accommodate even learning disabilities, race discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation for raising concerns about such things, and so forth. There will be an anarchy. And the effect of education denied is permanent. The effects will last a lifetime. Gift link. https://lnkd.in/gfaQ27tf

Rudzik Excavating receives $150,000 settlement and other relief in First Amendment–retaliation and other lawsuit against Mahoning County. Settlement represents "total vindication" for the company, says attorney Subodh Chandra. #CivilRights #FirstAmendment #FirstAmendmentRetaliation #FreeSpeech https://lnkd.in/gGQSJp4F

East Liverpool pays $316,500 settlement to Chris Green in First Amendment–retaliation case; retracts allegations "With this settlement and the City agreeing to retract all allegations and discipline, Chris Green has been completely vindicated." #civilrights #FirstAmendment #FirstAmendmentRights #FreeSpeech #FreeSpeechMatters #freespeechrights #employmentretaliation https://lnkd.in/giHBH5y2

Tracker of the civil-rights cases INVOLVING the Trump administration and its policies is here (h/t Margo Schlanger):

Tracker of the cases AGAINST the Trump administration. H/t Margo Schlanger. https://lnkd.in/gscdFVhi