AG with conflicts of interest fires two law firms for alleged conflicts of interest
AG Stephen Cox, ignoring the conflict of interest created when he gave a $350,000 no-bid contract to a former employer, claims to have found conflicts of interest with two law firms targeted by right-wing interests because they have lawyers who make political donations to Democrats.
Cox also had a clear conflict of interest in the Hillsdale College hysteria he promoted against the Anchorage school district, without admitting that he was setting up a private school with the help of Hillsdale College.
The law firms that Cox fired are Baron & Budd, based in Cox’s former home state of Texas, and Motley Rice of South Carolina.
According to the temporary general, the law firms were not fired for political reasons.
Cox, a member of the Alaska Bar Association for eight months, claims the law firms have been involved in litigation that conflicts with the goals of the state. The state didn’t know what was going on, the temporary general claims.
There is reason to object to Cox’s claims because a big political element is at play.
It happens that the two firms fired by Cox have also been targeted by a right-wing group led by a guy named Oramel H. Skinner the Third, a good friend of Cox’s who calls the temporary AG one of the most “cerebral” generals in the nation. Cox is battling woke lawfare, Skinner says.
The National Review began a November story about the Alaska firing of Motley Rice in political terms : “The hits keep coming for left-wing trial lawyers,” charging this action is a step in fighting “the Left’s lawfare campaign against disfavored industries and funding left-wing political campaigns.”
Cox claims that Baron & Budd lost its state contract because of its work on other cases involving so-called “forever chemicals,” or PFAS and firefighting foam that polluted water supplies.
The claim that the state was ignorant about Baron & Budd’s national work on PFAS and the major role played by Motley Rice on opiods is laughable. Someone could have looked at their websites and the court documents.
“Scott Summy, a Baron & Budd shareholder who was representing the state, said in a statement that the firm disagrees with the state's contention,” Reuters reported.
“Summy said the firm's expertise and leadership roles in the multi-district litigation over PFAS ‘have greatly benefited all our clients, including Alaska.’”
"Lawyers routinely represent multiple plaintiffs in mass tort context cases, and we could have continued to represent Alaska in accord with applicable ethical rules," Summy said.
In October, the state fired Motley Rice, which had worked on the opiod case for the state since 2017, also claiming a conflict of interest.
Cox’s office claimed that Motley Rice may have spread confidential information that should have been kept secret. But the letter firing the law firm is suspect for the complete lack of detail to back up the allegation.
The state hired Motley Rice on a 20 percent contingency basis more than eight years ago.
“Motley Rice denied the claims in its response, saying it had informed Alaska about other representations and had not disclosed any confidential information to third parties without the state's consent,” Reuters reported November 17.
“Motley Rice said Alaska had already recovered $100 million in the ongoing litigation and is obligated to pay expenses and ‘reasonable hourly attorneys' fees’ to the firm,” Reuters reported.
“Motley Rice has represented numerous states and local governments in similar cases seeking compensation over the opioid crisis. Alaska’s move follows a similar decision by Utah’s Republican attorney general to dismiss Motley Rice from related opioid litigation,” the news agency said.
The rest of the story is that the right-wing group run by Cox’s good friend claims the two consumer protection law firms are full of “shady trial lawyers” and have employees who make political donations to Democrats.
The so-called “Alliance for Consumers” that attacked these law firms and others is headed by the aforementioned Oramel H. Skinner The Third.
Skinner the Third is active in the right-wing Federalist Society, as is Cox. The Third worked at Wilmer Hale in 2012-2013 after Cox did.
Skinner’s so-called Alliance for Consumers, more like an alliance to skin consumers, is linked to the Concord Fund, which is part of Leonard Leo’s dark money network.
Skinner is paid more than $300,000 to be a lawyer for the 85 Fund, also part of Leo’s network. The National Review article mentioned above about left-wing woke lawfare was by Carrie Campbell Severino, who is paid $215,000 by Leo’s 85 Fund. She is president of Leo’s Concord Fund.
“The Alaska termination is a big win for Governor Dunleavy, a big win for Attorney General Cox, a big win for the State of Alaska, and a major blow against the Left and their campaign of woke lawfare,” Severino gushed.
Skinner’s group claims that Baron & Budd and Motley Rice benefit under a system with “politicians handing out lucrative public contracts to trial lawyers who give millions of dollars to liberal political campaigns.”
Skinner the Third claims the two firms fired by Alaska are “archetypical participants in the Shady Trial Lawyer Pipeline.”
Cox’s handling of these political firings and dressing the situation as principled is what someone other than consumer Oramel H. Skinner the Third might call shady. It’s another reason why Cox should not be the attorney general, regardless of how cerebral he is.
Your contributions help support independent analysis and political commentary by Alaska reporter and author Dermot Cole. Thank you for reading and for your support. Either click here to use PayPal or send checks to: Dermot Cole, Box 10673, Fairbanks, AK 99710-0673.