Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the Trump Administration from enforcing its discriminatory ban on transgender service members, describing "Plaintiffs’ service records alone [as] Exhibit A for the proposition that transgender persons can have the warrior ethos, physical and mental health, selflessness, honor, integrity, and discipline to ensure military excellence." Read the Court's decision here: https://lnkd.in/ew5j3fJD. Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law is honored to co-counsel with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and NCLR – National Center for Lesbian Rights in representing the plaintiff service members in this case.

As an LGBTQ-owned law firm, the heart of our civil rights practice is protecting and advancing the rights of transgender people and the broader LGBTQ+ community. As the trans community faces shocking and cruel attacks by our own government, Wardenski P.C. will continue to advocate vigorously and unapologetically for the rights of trans people to be treated with dignity and respect at school, work, in health care settings, in service to our country, and in every aspect of their lives. We’re proud to be part of this fight.

On January 28, 2025, Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law joined NCLR – National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) in filing a federal lawsuit to challenge President Trump's ban on military service by transgender people. https://lnkd.in/e_K_5z_E

Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law has partnered with the phenomenal Students' Civil Rights Project Team Public Justice, together with co-counsel at Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, to file a class action lawsuit to challenge the state's discriminatory and harmful ban on transgender students' right to use school restrooms matching their gender identities. We represent a 13-year-old trans boy and the Alliance For Full Acceptance in bringing this important lawsuit. https://lnkd.in/eqc4jJAX

Come work with us! Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law is hiring law students for part-time and full-time law clerk positions for Spring 2025 and Summer 2025. We welcome applications from talented law students interested in a career in civil rights litigation. We have a busy and exciting docket of #lgbtqrights and other civil rights cases across the country. For job descriptions and application instructions, visit our Jobs page here. https://lnkd.in/er28Usnv

On September 10, three transgender women, represented by Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law, Advocates for Trans Equality, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, filed a class action lawsuit against Aetna to challenge the insurer's discriminatory exclusion on gender-affirming facial reconstruction surgeries (also called facial feminization surgeries) for transgender policyholders. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, alleges that Aetna's exclusion violates Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. https://lnkd.in/e5id3nTZ

We’re excited to welcome Joseph Wardenski, a dedicated civil rights attorney and the founder of Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law in New York, to Public Justice’s Governing Board. As the principal attorney at his firm, Joe focuses on combating discrimination in education, health care, housing, and voting, with a special emphasis on LGBTQ+ rights. His collaboration with Public Justice in representing Camika Shelby led to significant policy reforms for LGBTQ+ students in Alabama. We look forward to the impact he will continue to make as part of our board.

I was honored to be elected last week to the Board of Directors of Public Justice, a public interest powerhouse that fights — and wins — groundbreaking civil rights and social justice cases. Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law had the privilege of co-counseling with Public Justice's Students' Civil Rights Project in Shelby v. Huntsville City Board of Education last year, and I'm delighted to serve on the organization's board.

VICTORY! Today, a federal judge in Wisconsin granted a preliminary injunction ordering the Elkhorn Area School District to allow our client, a 13-year-old transgender girl, to use girls' restrooms at school when she starts 8th grade this fall. The court held that the school district is likely violating the rights of our client and other transgender students under #TitleIX and the Fourteenth Amendment by denying them access to school facilities matching their gender identity. Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law and our co-counsel at Davis & Pledl, S.C. are proud to represent the student in this lawsuit. The Wardenski P.C. case team, led by Joseph Wardenski, includes Nigel Shelby Civil Rights Litigation Fellow Alexandra Vance, and 2024 summer associate José Luis Vallejo-Jimenez. https://lnkd.in/ekkZxWzh

Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law is pleased to welcome José Luis Vallejo-Jimenez, a rising third-year law student at Northeastern University School of Law, as our 2024 summer associate. Welcome to the team, José! https://lnkd.in/eupxyDBT