This is an article I wrote some time back for the DePaul University Journal of Social Justice. A lot of work remains to be done. In the end, I was not awarded more than very minor recompense for the poor behavior of opposing counsel who got an order preventing me from talking to my own client, co-counsel, or the community. The order was obtained while the case was on removal (so the state court entering the order should not have heard the case at all).
The larger question is: will the courts ever recognize that retaliating against a fair housing advocate/lawyer for advocating for a fair housing client must be punished or the Fair Housing Act has no teeth? I cannot both criticize fair housing lawyers for being too passive without also acknowledging that there is a more than reasonable fear that our best efforts will cost us our livelihoods, as my own livelihood was taken away by an order that stood for nearly 16 months.
Read my article here:
