Latest news with #NixonPeabody
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Animal Welfare League defends annual six-figure payments for legal services
Tax returns for Chicago Ridge's Animal Welfare League show a steady increase in legal fees over the past decade, with the nonprofit paying one firm nearly $600,000 during the last fiscal year. The nonprofit, led by President Chris Higens, reported on its most recent tax form from 2023 that bills to Nixon Peabody law firm made up about 15% all its expenses that year. Animal Welfare League paid Nixon Peabody about $212,000 in 2020, $348,000 in 2021 and $489,000 in 2022. It is unclear whether Animal Welfare League contracted exclusively with Nixon Peabody before 2020, as tax forms did not require the organization to write in the name of their contractor. Higens on Friday defended the nonprofit's spending on legal services, saying in an emailed statement to the Daily Southtown that 'every cent received is being spent wisely.' 'It saddens me to see that Animal Welfare League is again being wrongfully attacked,' Higens said, saying it is among the largest shelters in Illinois. 'Of course, legal fees will be incurred. It is part of operating a business,' Higens said. 'Legal fees include various trusts, wills and legacies issues as well as defending its integrity over the years.' Records show a sharp increase in legal fees from about $6,900 in 2016 to about $109,000 in 2017. From there on out, annual legal fees were consistently in the six figures. Around the same time, Animal Welfare League began facing criticism from protesters alleging animal abuse, unsanitary conditions and bully tactics. After a February 2018 investigation by the lllinois Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, the nonprofit was reprimanded for improper euthanasia procedures and poor record keeping. Since then, Higens has worked to improve the shelter's image and win back public trust, instituting a by-the-books protocol for euthanasia, purchasing an expensive oxygen treatment unit and pouring thousands of dollars into building repairs. Higens said Friday the Animal Welfare League brought litigation against several parties, with settlements recovering $1.4 million that the organization previously paid in fees as well as an additional $500,000. She did not provide names of the defendants or when the lawsuits were filed but said the organization filed one lawsuit 'to recover funds taken wrongly in an estate' and another for 'funds improperly claimed by the co-beneficiaries of a trust.' 'The monies are being reinvested back into the shelter,' Higens said. The annual legal fees are unusual when compared to those incurred by nearby animal care nonprofits, including South Suburban Humane Society in Matteson and the smaller Will County Humane Society in Shorewood. While South Suburban Humane Society's expenses for 2023 totaled $5.4 million, only about $17,400 went toward legal services. On tax forms from 2022, 2021 and 2020, the shelter did not report any legal expenses. Will County Humane Society's total expenses of $483,000 in 2023 were less than those incurred by Animal Welfare League for legal services alone. Total revenue for that year was $523,000 while Animal Welfare League's revenue was $4.2 million. Will County Humane Society did not report any legal expenses in 2023. stevens@
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State Thruway Authority OKs added funds for firm handling Seneca Nation lawsuit
ALBANY — New York State Thruway Authority officials have agreed to increase by $1 million the payment cap on a contract with the Buffalo-based law firm that is representing the public agency in an ongoing legal dispute with the Seneca Nation of Indians. During a meeting on Tuesday, members of the authority's board of directors unanimously authorized an amendment to an existing contract with Nixon Peabody that will raise the maximum amount payable to the law firm to $1.8 million. The authority's original 2022 agreement capped the amount to be paid to Nixon Peabody at $800,000. The resolution supporting the move notes that Nixon Peabody has provided 'substantial services' pertaining to ongoing litigation involving the Seneca Nation. Seneca leaders filed a lawsuit in 2018 claiming that the state agency failed to obtain the necessary federal approvals for an easement that has allowed the thruway to run through the tribe's Cattaraugus territory for decades. The Nation's lawsuit seeks to compel the state authority to obtain a new easement or compensate the Nation for tolls collected from motorists using the authority on reservation land. It also seeks to end toll collection along the roughly 3-mile section of the thruway, which is about 30 miles south of Buffalo. In 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District allowed the lawsuit to continue after it rejected an attempt by the state to have it dismissed. The decision upheld a 2020 U.S. District Court ruling. The resolution supporting the pay increase for Nixon Peabody notes that the law firm has provided 'substantial services' pertaining to the litigation over the easement while also serving as bond counsel for authority debt transactions that are reimbursable by the state. The resolution describes the Seneca litigation as 'complex' while indicating that there is also a 'continued need for support' with the authority's state debt transactions.
Boston Globe
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Rhode Island's former US attorney has a new job in private practice
He will work on both criminal and civil cases, he said. The cases may involve the Department of Justice, though he cannot take cases he personally worked on while he was US attorney. 'I think there are a lot of similarities in terms of trying to make sure that companies and individuals don't find themselves at the crosshairs of government enforcement,' Cunha said of his transition from prosecutor to defense attorney. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Cunha confirmed the job at the law firm was in the works before he was directed to resign as US attorney for Rhode Island on Feb. 17. He was expecting to lose his job, as is customary when a new president takes office, and had already submitted a letter of resignation that would have taken effect days later. Advertisement 'All of the remaining Biden-appointed US attorneys were informed by the White House that their service had come to a close,' Cunha said. Cunha said he chose Nixon Peabody because a number of colleagues he worked with at the DOJ are now there, including As US attorney, Cunha sued 'You always wish you had time for more, but I'm proud not just of what the office has done, but where the office is and the fact that I've had the opportunity to bring on board some really terrific members of the staff,' Cunha said in a January Advertisement Trump has not yet named a replacement for Cunha. Sara Bloom, who was Cunha's first assistant, is acting US attorney in the interim. 'Sara is a tremendously capable and talented career DOJ attorney,' Cunha said. 'She's eminently capable of running the office at the highest possible standard.' Cunha declined to say if he's considering running for R.I. attorney general next year, an idea that has been repeatedly floated by the current Attorney General Peter Neronha, a former US attorney himself, who is term-limited. 'My focus right now is on navigating this transition to private practice,' Cunha said. 'As for the future, we'll see what happens.' Steph Machado can be reached at
