A pair of attorneys who drafted a California statute have collected or billed about $4.3 million in three cases arising from claims that minorities were shut out of local elections -- and could reap much more from two pending lawsuits and future litigation.
All of the cases have been initiated by the lawyers who drafted the statute -- Seattle law professor Joaquin Avila and Robert Rubin, legal director for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as other lawyers working with them, an Associated Press investigation has found.
As the AP reports:
" ... it is unusual that after seven years all legal efforts are so narrowly focused, especially since Avila told lawmakers when he testified for the bill in 2002 that he expected other attorneys would take on cases because of favorable incentives written into the measure."
The law makes it easier for lawyers to sue and win financial judgments in cases arising from claims of voter discrimination, while shielding attorneys from liability if the claims are tossed out.
"It's a money grab," said John Stafford, superintendent of the Madera Unified School District, which was slapped with a $1.2 million attorneys' bill even though it never contested a lawsuit. To pay, he said the school district would have to slash money for books and lunches for its mostly Hispanic students -- an odd consequence for a law intended to aid Hispanics.
Officials in several California communities told the AP they never heard complaints of voter discrimination until the lawyers stepped forward. One case, which could go to trial as early as January, is being closely watched by communities around the state. If the law is upheld, it could lead to a massive recasting of local election district boundaries, or more lawsuits.
Avila wouldn't disclose his earnings from the lawsuits. He bills at $725 an hour, according to the AP. Rubin can bill his legal work at $700 an hour. Though he drafted "probably the whole" law, Avila told the wire service, "I don't think that should preclude me from enforcement."