By Adam Pagnucco.
MCPS’s hiring of Jackson Lewis P.C. to investigate allegations of sexual harassment by one of its principals is creating allegations of conflict of interest. County Executive Marc Elrich has questioned whether the investigation is truly independent since Jackson Lewis has performed other work for MCPS. The teachers union has called Jackson Lewis an “anti-worker law firm.” And Council Member Will Jawando has accepted a $3,900 contribution from the firm for his U.S. Senate campaign. The issue is clearly the hottest one in the county at this moment.
And it’s going to get hotter because there are even more conflicts.
Consider these two items.
The county government itself has employed Jackson Lewis.
On March 14, 2023, the county attorney requested that the county council approve the hiring of Jackson Lewis and two other law firms “as special counsel to assist the Office of the County Attorney in representing Montgomery County and the members of the County’s Self-Insurance Fund.” The council unanimously voted to approve the request.
Because this hiring occurred just five months ago, it’s possible that Jackson Lewis is working for the county right now.
Update: The county executive’s spokesman tells me that while the county attorney received authorization to hire the firm, he never retained them for actual work.
Jackson Lewis attorneys have made several contributions to MoCo office holders.
In addition to the firm PAC’s contribution to Jawando, its attorneys have made several contributions to MoCo elected officials over the years, including former County Executive Ike Leggett and former council members Nancy Floreen and Roger Berliner. The table below shows contributions to current council members. (As far as I can tell, Elrich has never received money from the firm or its lawyers.)
Counting Jackson Lewis attorneys Weldon Latham and Michael Hatcher and its PAC, Jawando’s state and federal committees have received six checks totaling $5,450 from the firm since 2016. This indicates the possibility of a deeper relationship between the two going beyond just one recent PAC check. Given the firm’s “union avoidance” activities, this is intensely awkward for Jawando, who has relied on union endorsements throughout his political career. What will his union supporters think once they learn of his long-time support from a firm that specializes in stopping their organizing campaigns?
Let’s not exaggerate this. Jackson Lewis is one of many law firms that contributes to candidates in Maryland. Their contributions amount to a small fraction of their recipients’ receipts and their work for MCPS and the county government has to be a TINY part of their revenues.
But added to their preexisting work for MCPS and my prior reporting on Jawando, there is abundant conflict here in both their hiring to investigate sexual harassment and Jawando’s potential oversight of the investigation. Council Members Dawn Luedtke and Evan Glass are right to request that state and county inspectors general take over this investigation.