Joel Wertheimer’s Post

I'm going to wife guy about McKensey Smith little bit today. Last year today, McKensey left Women's Link Worldwide, after a decade of globetrotting. She went from a development associate to leading the organization's strategic planning in addition to overseeing the fundraising and communications teams. After a couple months of "rest" (she was also mother to a then 20 month old with a husband prepping for a trial), Mack started an independent consulting practice. Her first client was Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT), an incredible organization that works to help clinicians to provide safe, timely, and affordable medication abortion via telemedicine to patients in states where abortion is banned or restricted. She has grown the business into a full time entity way more quickly than she imagined (I knew this would happen), with a handful of interesting clients with tough problems to solve and way less rest time. Watching her grow the business and take chances has been a joy to watch and I can't wait to see where she goes with it. *Pictured below, McKensey and a very sick Stella on McKensey's last day of work at Women's Link*

Working with the Winston Pro Bono team last year was really incredible and they're a fantastic team.

This week, Wertheimer LLC filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of our client and her minor children against the New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS), two of its caseworkers, and doctors who illegally subjected her child to an investigatory search. This legal action addresses the wrongful removal and subsequent unnecessary medical examination of her autistic son from his school without parental consent and in the absence of any urgent circumstances. The complaint, filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeks to address the infringement of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments rights, highlighting issues of unlawful seizure, detention, and interference in the family's life. Wertheimer LLC's Family Civil Rights practice is headed by associate Mara Fleder, who joined after ten years in the family defense practice at The Bronx Defenders, and is dedicated to holding ACS accountable for their actions when they violate the constitutional rights of parents and children. The firm aims to ensure overreach does not occur unchecked, protecting the rights and integrity of families against unwarranted government interference. The complaint is available here: https://lnkd.in/eGRvhHXQ

I don't think it's any secret that New York City has been lacking quality leadership under Mayor Adams. And this isn't an ideological issue, it's a competency one. From failing to communicate with New Yorkers during massive flooding, to failures at Rikers Island, to abandoning daycare providers and turning away from Universal 3-k, this Administration does not seem up for the job and frankly does not seem serious about the job at all.  That's why I'm thrilled my friend Zellnor Myrie has launched an exploratory committee to run for Mayor of New York in 2025. Zellnor is Brooklyn born and raised, went to Brooklyn Tech, and then Cornell Law, before abandoning Big Law to run for the New York State Senate. When fake Democrats called the IDC handed power to Republicans in Albany, Zellnor was one of the trailblazing young Democrats that unseated the IDC, unseating Jesse Hamilton (who himself replaced Eric Adams in that seat). In six short years in Albany, Z has written and passed incredible gun safety legislation, wrote and passed the Clean Slate Act giving New Yorkers a second chance, passed the New York John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and the list goes on. He is serious about being a public servant and about waking up in morning to do the job of representing his constituents, and he brings that energy and kindness into everything he does. Eric Adams is going to have a lot of money to support his campaign, from who knows where, and lots of dark money supporting him as well. Andrew Cuomo is sitting on a pile of money and thinking about getting into the race. Z is going to need money from small donors to win. The good news is that in New York City, with enough small donors to qualify, every dollar up to $250 is matched 8:1 by the public matching funds, turning a $250 donation into a $2,250 donation. To qualify, the campaign will need at least 1000 donations and at least $250,000 raised from donors who are giving $250 or less, i.e. the fastest way to get to matching is 1000 people donating $250, but every dollar counts. So please click the link, give some money, reach out to me if you want to know more. But Zellnor is is absolutely the real deal, a generational change for a City that needs dynamism again. https://lnkd.in/eWH-4eqm

Perhaps some of you read this New York Times article about home health aides getting paid only 13 hours for 24 hour shifts. The article refers to a "longstanding interpretation of state law that assumes they should only be paid for up to 13 hours of the day." This was a mistake of the law and people should know! (I wrote the reporter to say as much.) In 2019, the New York Court of Appeals (state’s highest court) in a case called Andryeyeva v New York Health Care, Inc., 33 N.Y.3d 152, 167 (N.Y. 2019), held that when HHAs do not receive at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep and three hours for meal breaks, those exceptions do not apply, and they must be paid for every hour of the 24-hour shift.     We are litigating a case on specifically this issue in Federal court in Long Island and would be happy to talk to anybody. Perhaps your family employs a home health aide as well. Make sure their employer is paying them full freight! https://lnkd.in/e9tHJjvf

Last night I went on BBC Newsday to talk about the Alabama Supreme Court and its fetal personhood ruling that led to fertility clinics pausing service in Alabama. This is personal to me. My two year-old daughter Stella, the joy of my life, tantrums included, wouldn’t exist without IVF. This is the future Republicans want for America and if Republicans and Donald Trump win in November they could achieve.  https://lnkd.in/eke-sE5t