Racking Up the Fees

Matan Goldstein, the Jewish student who was subjected to repeated antisemitic treatment at the University of Virginia, has settled his lawsuit against the University. Terms of the settlement were not revealed.

While the public cannot know how much UVA paid, if anything, to make the problem go away, we can get a sense of how much it spent on legal fees.

According to billing documents obtained by my Jefferson Council colleague Walter Smith, Richmond law firm McGuire Woods billed $521,000 dollars in July, August, and September, charging as much as $1,054 per hour for partner Jonathan T. Blank’s time.

UVA has proven to be a lucrative client for outside counsel.

Former medical student Kieran Bhattacharya, whose problems at UVA began when he grilled the presenter of a microaggressions session, is appealing his case against UVA to the U.S. Supreme Court.

UVA settled with former student Morgan Bettinger, who was accused of racism, punished on the basis of information later found to be inaccurate, and denied a request to expunge the punishment from her record.

UVA is still engaged in lengthy litigation with former employees of the UVA Health System who lost their jobs after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccination in violation of their religious beliefs.

Perhaps this is business as usual for a large university. But don’t be surprised if the list grows as more people push back against blatant double standards.

— JAB


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6 responses to “Racking Up the Fees”

  1. Chip Gibson Avatar
    Chip Gibson

    The mere fact that UVA paid a lawyer in excess of $1,000 per hour to represent itself for prior delinquent, inappropriate action says it all. Once a greatly admired law school, incapable of either properly advising the administration in suitable conduct or representing it when not.

  2. James McCarthy Avatar
    James McCarthy

    McGuire Woods Consulting is an equal opportunity lawfare firm deeply engaged since the 2020 election with P45/47. Not missing a beat on 11/24/2024, the firm posted:

    McGuireWoods Consultingโ€™s teams in Washington, D.C, and Florida, are uniquely positioned to assist businesses pursuing opportunities come January when president-elect Donald Trump takes office.

    No financial data will ever be disclosed for these activities. Five of its attorneys participated in election 2020 election law challenges from three different offices in four states.

  3. Tinkabell Avatar

    Since UVA is a state school, I guess that mean the taxpayers are on the hook for this mess and all the others?

  4. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    โ€œMatan Goldstein, the Jewish student who was subjected to repeated antisemitic treatment at the University of Virginiaโ€

    Allegedlyโ€ฆ I knowโ€ฆ details, details, eh JABโ€ฆ?

    โ€โ€ฆ has settled his lawsuit against the University. Terms of the settlement were not revealed.โ€

    Settledโ€ฆ? How could he settle away an alleged violation of his human rightsโ€ฆ?

  5. Teddy007 Avatar

    A healthcare worker who refuses to take a vaccination is in the wrong career field and needs to find something else to do.

  6. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
    f/k/a_tmtfairfax

    One of the interesting things to me is that Mr. Blank is an energy lawyer. He's based in Charlottesville and was managing partner in that office. I suspect Ms. Thompson did the heavy lifting, including supervision of the staff, while Blank did a lot of handholding and reassuring at UVA.

    There must have been some dirty laundry to pay $180 K for legal services.

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