Ken Blackwell: Utah Attorney General Derek Brown Scores Direct Hit Against Left-Wing Lawfare

It is always a good day when we can celebrate our team landing a stinging blow against Left-Wing Lawfare. That makes today a good day because Utah’s new Attorney General, Derek Brown, has fired the left-wing trial lawyers at Motley Rice from a state contract that he inherited from his predecessor.

This is a huge win for our movement. I ended a recent column here by saying that “state officials can no longer treat outside counsel contracting as routine” and that [i]t is time for officials to take a closer look and ensure their states are fully protected and that they aren’t being used and abused by the architects of left-wing lawfare.”

Law firms like Motley Rice and the ethics questions that seemed to be the basis for their termination are exactly what I had in mind when I wrote those prescient words in these pages.

Motley Rice is a set of left-wing partisans hiding in plain sight. While the firm was successful in getting itself onto state contracts in red states like Montana, Kentucky, and South Carolina in the midst of the opioid crisis, the firm has a Democratic federal giving ratio of 100% and has been tagged as part of the so-called Shady Trial Lawyer Pipeline.  Another reminder of how plugged into the Democratic machine the firm is: Joe Rice, the firm’s head honcho, was in the running for a cushy ambassador gig under Joe Biden.

The situation in America’s law firms is bad and getting worse. But firms like Motley Rice are the paragon of the problem, serving not only as a funnel of money into left-wing politics but also as a major cog in the Left’s Woke Lawfare against industries that have refused to bend the knee to progressive policy preferences. And throughout, they have been dogged in their state work by allegations of ethical lapses and dual loyalty. That makes this termination by Attorney General Derek Brown extra heartening and something worthy of special attention, even for those of us who are not lawyers.

People often say that elections have consequences, and that is being proven out in Utah. For too long, our state officials were docile in the face of Left-Wing Lawfare, sitting as unwitting participants in the Left’s schemes by employing the Left’s trial-lawyer foot-soldiers with taxpayer dollars and deferring to a business-as-usual mentality and staff attitude when the Left was playing by none of the rules. But Utah’s recent action is a beacon of hope, as Attorney General Brown has stepped up, just months into his time in office, and delivered a sharp break from “business as usual” with respect to the Left and their woke games.

And the consequences of the blow here by Attorney General Brown should not be understated. The contract in question was for lawsuits against pharmacy benefit managers—now often linked to giant health insurers—over opioids, the kind of contract that historically paid out millions upon millions, if not billions, to the lawyers involved. All that has come to a screeching halt now in Utah, thanks to the bravery of Attorney General Brown.

Here is hoping that we have more of this bravery on the horizon. I have long said that we would never see left-wing public officials fund our team and boost our rank-and-file allies. No left-wing official would deign to give a multi-million-dollar contract to President Trump’s lawyers. But that has not yet become the norm for our side, even though the trend is improving (don’t forget that Montana was the first to turn the tide and terminate Motley Rice back in 2021).

And that is why I will say again: every State Attorney General’s Office, Treasurer’s Office, or other office with authority over outside counsel contracts should proactively review their existing contracts and their ongoing contract templates. Do they like the lawyers they have? Is the state feeding into left-wing lawfare? Are conflicts-of-interest provisions strong enough to stop left-wing hijack?

It is time for public officials to take a closer look at what is under their control and where they are sending money and ensure their states aren’t being used and abused by the architects of left-wing lawfare. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown shows what is possible when this advice is heeded, and we should all thank him for that, because it ultimately matters to all of us who are in the fight for the soul of this nation, especially if his bravery becomes contagious to other officials and the trend of recent years accelerates.

Ken Blackwell served as mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio State Treasurer, and Ohio Secretary of State.