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Since 2024, my professional work has been focused on pro bono advocacy at the national, state and local level. At the national level, I have been volunteering with Lawyers Defending American Democracy. At the state level, I volunteer with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. At the local level, I've advocated with the City Council and Sheriff of Alexandria. Lawyers Defending American Democracy LDAD is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical group whose mission is to galvanize lawyers to defend the rule of law in the face of an unprecedented threat to American democracy. It works through filing ethics complaints and amicus briefs, issuing periodic calls to action, and publishing reports and other resources to aid lawyers in stepping up to defend the Constitution, the judiciary, free and fair elections, rules of professional conduct and other elements of the rule of law in the United states. My LDAD work has primarily consisted of drafting ethics complaints and related correspondence and litigation papers. I was the principal author of both of LDAD's complaints against Pamela Bondi (before and after she left office) and a mandamus petition filed with the Florida Supreme Court after The Florida Bar rejected the first one. I was also a principal author of (i) a complaint we filed against Donald Trump's lawyer Boris Epshteyn, and (ii) a letter we filed with the federal district court in Rhode Island regarding ethical violations committed by DOJ lawyers seeking to enforce a bogus administrative subpoena intended to intimidate a hospital from providing gender-affirming care. I also played a significant role in LDAD's complaints against Stefan Passantino, Jeffrey Clark and Kenneth Chesebro. I was a principal author of an amicus brief filed in federal district court in D.C. arguing that the presumption of regularity should not apply in litigation filed by former CIA Director John Brennan that seeks an order requiring the federal government to retain any documents created in its investigations of Director Brennan. I have authored an LDAD memorandum entitled "How State Bars Can Defend Democracy and the Rule of Law Consistent with Keller v. State Bar of California." This memo explains that mandatory bars have more leeway than is commonly thought to take positions on rule of law issues without running afoul of their members' First Amendment rights. The memo is available on LDAD's website, below. You can see LDAD's website here Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy Based in Richmond, VICPP is the largest non-partisan, interfaith advocacy organization in Virginia and a national model for high impact, multifaith collaboration. VICPP's advocacy was crucial in Virginia's decisions to abolish the death penalty and to expand Medicaid to the working poor. I am active in its annual lobby days and in other capacities. You can see VICPP's website here City of Alexandria I was a key player in getting the City to become the first municipality in Virginia to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, drafting a memorandum that the state Attorney General tracked in opining that the "Dillon Rule" does not bar Virginia municipalities from using their noise ordinances to ban these noxious devices. I'm also working to get local law enforcement to stand up to ICE. |
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