Civil Rights Litigation

Voting.

Employment.

Housing.

Education.

Equal rights under law in these and many other areas of public life are the result of hard-fought battles inside and outside the courtroom, some of which unfolded dramatically in our home cities of Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, and Montgomery.

Even today, these issues are regularly litigated in state and federal courts nationwide. Balch & Bingham attorneys regularly appear at the forefront of civil rights law, representing clients in high-profile constitutional litigation. Recent examples include:

Representing county-wide civil service merit system in achieving compliance with decades-old consent decree requiring implementation of nondiscriminatory employee selection procedures;
Representing multiple local Boards of Education in achieving unitary status and release from federal court supervision;
Represented flagship state university in litigation involving desegregation of higher education;
Negotiated an Amended Consent Decree allowing for subject-matter testing for initial teacher certification, and guided implementation of testing in accordance with negotiated guidelines;
Defending state and local governments against vote dilution claims under the Voting Rights Act, and assisting them with redistricting;
Represented a public official in a federal challenge to local legislation on the grounds that it violated the official’s First Amendment rights, that it was an unconstitutional bill of attainder and that it violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
Litigating a Section 1983 action on behalf of a developer against a county arising from the county’s refusal to consider the developer’s land disturbance permits applications;
Represented high school athletic association in federal court litigation involving implementation of adapted track & field events for students with disabilities.

Drawing on the diverse experiences of Balch & Bingham lawyers in the Governmental Relations, Labor & Employment, and Litigation practice groups, we can custom-build a team to meet virtually any need.