Schulte Lawyers Profiled in American Lawyer for Firm's Pro Bono Work

Schulte partners Gary Stein and Michael Swartz, along with special counsel for pro bono initiatives Sara Solfanelli, were profiled in American Lawyer Media’s Litigation Daily column for the firm’s pro bono work on a lawsuit filed this week challenging the State of Oklahoma’s harmful HB1775 law. Along with our co-counsel the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Schulte filed this suit challenging a recently-passed Oklahoma classroom censorship bill, HB 1775, which severely restricts public school teachers and students from learning and talking about race and gender in the classroom. The suit argues that HB1775 not only undermines students’ and teachers’ First Amendment rights to discuss race and gender issues, but also prevents open conversations around American history, including the experiences of historically marginalized groups.

The column also explores the connection between this suit and Schulte’s ongoing pro bono work pursuing public nuisance complaints on behalf of survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the worst incidents of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, in which an attack by a white mob left hundreds of Black residents dead, thousands homeless and destroyed much of the Black-majority and vibrant Greenwood community in Tulsa.

Read the full Litigation Daily column here.