Thank you Cooley LLP!

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

Newman professor Mr. Prescott in spoof Levee Spin 101

Two days ago, we urged our supporters to send a word of appreciation to Cooley LLP law firm for its pro bono work assisting Levees.org.

Represented by the San Diego-based law firm, we told the US Army Corps of Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers they shall NOT intimidate a little grass roots group and a bunch of high school kids out of exercising their first amendment rights.

With permission from the supporter, we are re-printing here one of the Thank you notes.

Thank you for your work on behalf of Levees.org

I’m sure that when you started off in the world of law many of you hoped that you could do good with your law degrees. But that $80,000 in student loan debt said otherwise. So you did the 150 hour billable hour a week game, just to get out of debt, but then… the house, the car, and kids! They get expensive and you don’t want them to live under the debt like you did after college.

But you figured you can save your soul by doing pro-bono work like this. It pays you back in a way that no corporate account can.

I know you worry about pissing off some client or getting “the call” from a big time paying customer (“What’s this I hear about you taking on ASCE? Knock it off!”)

I’ve been there. And I know how others might suggest a lower profile or less controversial pro-bono work. I mean, it’s not as if there aren’t a lot of people who need help who aren’t interested in taking on powerful people and the US Government.

But consider this, think of all those times you promised yourself you would use your skills for good and not just for the billable hours. You made good on that promise to yourself. You can feel a bit better about the boring paid work because of this pro-bono work.

Unlike some people, I don’t think poorly of lawyers. I think they can help with some of the most important issues of our times. The lawyers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation helped me pro-bono during my battle with Disney and right wing talk radio. We won. I was so grateful to have their expertise and support.

When you stepped into the fury and helped Levees.org on a important issue, you didn’t just help Sandy and the organization, you helped all the people who take on the government and powerful private interests. When you help with that battle –and succeed– you give hope to others fighting similar battles. I thought you should know that as you move on to your next 15 minute chunk of billable time.

Spocko
Media Consultant and blogger
San Francisco, CA
spockosbrain.com

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Levees.org to speak to Middle East Delegation on accountability in government

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

Sandy Rosenthal (seated 3rd from left) and Middle East Delegation. Photo/Ines Sigel

The founder of Levees.org will speak to a delegation from the Middle East in New Orleans today about transparency in government.

The nine participants, accompanied by three interpreters, will also meet with representatives of the Bureau of Governmental Research, the Inspector General, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office with a focus on accountability in government.

The State Department wanted the delegation to have an opportunity to meet with a citizen’s group that is working for greater accountability in government. Levees.org was selected.

The delegation representations the countries of Egypt, Kuwait, Mauritania, Moroco, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The New Orleans Citizens Diplomacy Council have arranged for Sandy Rosenthal to speak to the delegation today at 2p at the Hotel Intercontinental at 444 St. Charles Avenue.

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Levees.org closes chapter of harassment by ASCE

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Isidore Newman students in a spoof of Corps of Engineers relationship with ASCE

If you haven’t seen the classic 60-second video Levee Spin 101, you missed what made Levees.org the talk of the town in 2007.

Defying a threat of lawsuit from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Levees.org posted the satirical video to its website which immediately went viral.

With school children as actors, the video parodied the cozy relationship between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a levee investigation team assembled by the ASCE post Katrina.

Represented pro bono by San Diego-based law firm Cooley LLP, Levees.org elected to exercise its right to free speech by publicizing the spoof. (The New Orleans-based law firm Adams and Reese also provided significant support.)

After the video release, two investigations of ASCE’s actions were launched.

In 2008, an external panel cited conflict of interest and admonished ASCE to discontinue allowing its peer review teams to be paid directly by the organization whose work they’re investigating.

In 2009, an internal ASCE panel announced that the Society had made false statements in a 2007 press release that gave a misleading impression that civil engineering failures during Katrina were not a cause of the flooding devastation. (ASCE had removed the release from its site by early 2008, an apparent acknowledgement of the errors.)

Last week, Levees.org received a letter from a Cooley LLP legal representative. It read:

“On December 12, 2007, we sent ASCE a letter informing them that Levees.org would exercise its First Amendment rights to comment critically on events of public concern and, to that end, would repost the video on December 14, 2007. Levees.org did just that and ASCE did not harass your organization further.”

The letter closes a very important chapter in Levees.org’s fight to squash the myths about the New Orleans flood that was then – and is still being pushed – by powerful interests.

ASCE’s harrassment of Levees.org and Levees.org’s triumph is evidence that a little grassroots group can win, even in the face of corporate attorneys with fat wallets and powerful organizations with government connections.

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