Kevin Trowel, one of the assistant US Attorneys in the case against Keith Raniere, has left the DOJ to join a ‘not-for-profit’ law firm Free & Fair Litigation Group.
The new law firm, of which Trowel joins as a principle, states it will handle 10 cases at a time based on the potential to create precedents to combat “radical authoritarianism,” which the firm sees as “gaining a dangerous foothold” in American courts, putting “democracy in crisis.”
The members of the firm appear to be Democrats with two of the founders having worked as prosecutors investigating Donald Trump.
The firm seeks to have impact to “bolster popular democracy” and “help guarantee free and fair elections and restore long-held, constitutional freedoms.”
Trowel is known to readers for his role in the Raniere case, and his one-word summation of his allegations of FBI tampering as “frivolous.”
Prior to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Trowel worked as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, clerked for Judge Reena Raggi of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Faith Hochberg of the District of New Jersey.
Trowel moves from prosecution to working to change the direction of the growing authoritarian US government. The Free & Fair Litigation Group states. “We have lost rights that existed for decades, and the popular democracy we took for granted faces existential threats.”
In addition to Trowel, there are eight other members of the firm lished on the website, which states, “Our team brings experience at the highest levels of law, and unique credibility before today’s courts, to fight for our democracy in crisis.”
The team:
Carey R. Dunne
FOUNDING PRINCIPAL
Dunne as General Counsel in the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office, led the criminal investigation of Donald J. Trump. He was a defense attorney with Davis Polk & Wardwell, and served as the president of the 23,000 member New York City Bar Association, and chaired its Judiciary Committee.
Mark F. Pomerantz
FOUNDING PRINCIPAL
Pomerantz was a Special Assistant District Attorney to help lead the investigation by Manhattan DA Vance into the personal and business finances of former President Donald J. Trump. Pomerantz was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and a white-collar defense attorney.
Michele Roberts
FOUNDING PRINCIPAL
Michele Roberts was the Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, who tried more than 150 cases to jury verdicts. She spent eight years in the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. She was Chief of the Trial Division.
Danny Frost
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Danny Frost was chief spokesperson and strategic advisor for District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr, was counsel at the New York City Campaign Finance Board, an associate at Hughes Hubbard and Reed LLP, and Vice President of the Law School Democrats of America.
Eryn Ament Bingle
CHIEF OF STAFF
Bingle was an attorney for the YWCA of Greenwich Civil Legal Clinicm Special Counsel for Economic Development and Special Projects for Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04); and a mediator in the Stamford and Norwalk Juvenile Courts.
Tali Farhadian Weinstein
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
Tali Farhadian Weinstein was a Law Clerk for Judge Merrick B. Garland at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. She worked at the U.S. Department of Justice as Counsel to Attorney General Eric Holder, and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. She served as the General Counsel of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and created the nation’s first Post-Conviction Justice Bureau; is a Legal Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU Law School.
Neil Barsky
BOARD MEMBER
Barsky is Founder and former Chairman of The Marshall Project. He was a reporter for the New York Daily News and the Wall Street Journal. He also was an equity research analyst for Morgan Stanley and built two hedge businesses, Midtown Capital and Alson Capital Partners. He directed and produced the documentary film Koch for PBS’s POV series.
Tiffany Liston
BOARD MEMBER
Liston served as Mobilization for Justice’s Deputy Director; and a Litigation Associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
