UCLA Law catalogs anti-critical race theory measures, N.Y. firm sues over $2.3 mln sale of diamond ring, Duane Morris opens in Texas' Fort Worth
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A new UCLA Law analysis shows myriad efforts by lawmakers, school boards and other public officials to ban the teaching of critical race theory in 49 U.S. states. Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler is?suing a pair of lawyers over the $2.37 million sale of a diamond ring that belonged to a former client. Duane Morris opens its second Texas office in 18 months in Fort Worth. And Crowell & Moring sued former client ViaClean to recover more than $2.2 million in legal fees.
A new analysis by the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law shows that efforts to ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools and universities have been proposed or adopted in 49 U.S. states.
The law school’s?CRT Forward Tracking Project ?has identified nearly 500 jurisdictions where critical race theory restrictions have been proposed in the past year by state and federal lawmakers, local school boards and other public officials. The school released its findings Tuesday.
Critical race theory, which emerged out of law schools in the 1980s,?argues ?that racism and prejudice, whether intentional or not, are embedded within U.S. laws and institutions.
UCLA Law in 2000 was the first law school to establish a program dedicated to critical race theory, which supports legal scholarship in the area.
Critical race theory has become a political flashpoint in recent years. Conservative politicians, parents and right-wing media have deployed the term to denounce discussions of racism, "white privilege" or diversity initiatives in U.S. schools.
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New York law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler is?suing ?a pair of lawyers – David Marcus and Brian Cinelli – who worked at a smaller firm over the $2.37 million sale of a 24.79-carat Harry Winston diamond ring that belonged to a former Patterson client.
The firm said in a 14-page lawsuit that Marcus, formerly of Marcus & Cinelli, helped an ex-client of Patterson's sell the ring.
The sale violated a 2013 court order that prohibited the client, who owes Patterson Belknap more than $3.5 million in legal fees, from selling or transferring property without court approval, according to the complaint.
Marcus did not respond to a request for comment however Cinelli, who was also named in the lawsuit, said he had "left" Marcus & Cinelli, but declined to comment further.
Both Marcus and Cinelli's LinkedIn profiles say they exited the firm earlier this year.
After the sale of the ring, Marcus and Cinelli used the proceeds to write checks to the Marcus & Cinelli law firm, Patterson Belknap said in Tuesday's complaint. None of the cash went to the former Patterson Belknap client, Barbara Stewart, the firm said.
Stewart is not a defendant in the lawsuit.
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Duane Morris has opened its second Texas office in 18 months in Fort Worth, as the state continues to attract large out-of-town law firms. The Philadelphia-founded firm said it has hired corporate partner Mitchell Moses in the new office from a Texas firm, the Underwood Law Firm.
Two associates and one special counsel will relocate to Fort Worth from Duane Morris' Dallas office, and two other partners will split time as needed, according to a spokesperson at the firm.
Randy Gordon, managing partner of the firm's Dallas office, said Fort Worth "really is a separate legal market" from Dallas, with different business communities and cultures. The two cities are about 30 miles apart.
He said that while the firm wants both offices to be full-service, Fort Worth has more connections to agribusiness and oil and gas:
"I still think it makes a difference to clients to have a physical presence."
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Law firm Crowell & Moring sued former biotech client ViaClean Technologies to recover more than $2.2 million in legal fees, in a lawsuit that alleged the company fell behind last year amid cashflow problems tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crowell represented Philadelphia-based ViaClean on regulatory issues and intellectual property disputes from 2020 until earlier this year, according to the?firm's complaint ?filed in District of Columbia Superior Court.
A judge on Monday set an initial hearing for October. Neither ViaClean nor Crowell attorneys Clifton Elgarten and George Ruttinger immediately returned a message seeking comment.
In its lawsuit, Crowell said it "complied with all of its obligations" to ViaClean, and that it "achieved very favorable resolutions of four significant litigations for ViaClean and successfully completed all other engagements."
"ViaClean fell behind on its minimum monthly payments to Crowell & Moring, and eventually stopped making payments entirely."
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