Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law

On September 10, three transgender women, represented by Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law, Advocates for Trans Equality, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, filed a class action lawsuit against Aetna to challenge the insurer's discriminatory exclusion on gender-affirming facial reconstruction surgeries (also called facial feminization surgeries) for transgender policyholders. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, alleges that Aetna's exclusion violates Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. https://lnkd.in/e5id3nTZ

We’re excited to welcome Joseph Wardenski, a dedicated civil rights attorney and the founder of Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law in New York, to Public Justice’s Governing Board. As the principal attorney at his firm, Joe focuses on combating discrimination in education, health care, housing, and voting, with a special emphasis on LGBTQ+ rights. His collaboration with Public Justice in representing Camika Shelby led to significant policy reforms for LGBTQ+ students in Alabama. We look forward to the impact he will continue to make as part of our board.

I was honored to be elected last week to the Board of Directors of Public Justice, a public interest powerhouse that fights — and wins — groundbreaking civil rights and social justice cases. Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law had the privilege of co-counseling with Public Justice's Students' Civil Rights Project in Shelby v. Huntsville City Board of Education last year, and I'm delighted to serve on the organization's board.

VICTORY! Today, a federal judge in Wisconsin granted a preliminary injunction ordering the Elkhorn Area School District to allow our client, a 13-year-old transgender girl, to use girls' restrooms at school when she starts 8th grade this fall. The court held that the school district is likely violating the rights of our client and other transgender students under #TitleIX and the Fourteenth Amendment by denying them access to school facilities matching their gender identity. Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law and our co-counsel at Davis & Pledl, S.C. are proud to represent the student in this lawsuit. The Wardenski P.C. case team, led by Joseph Wardenski, includes Nigel Shelby Civil Rights Litigation Fellow Alexandra V., and 2024 summer associate José Luis Vallejo-Jimenez. https://lnkd.in/ekkZxWzh

Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law is pleased to welcome José Luis Vallejo-Jimenez, a rising third-year law student at Northeastern University School of Law, as our 2024 summer associate. Welcome to the team, José! https://lnkd.in/eupxyDBT

Congratulations to our former law clerks, Ashley Toruno (Spring '23 & '23-24 school year; CUNY Law '24), Leora J. (Summer '23; CUNY Law '24), Ezra Clark (Summer '22; Georgetown Law '24), and Michael Hannaman (Summer '22; NYU Law '24), for their law school graduations! You've helped make our little firm great and we're excited to see what's next for all of you.

The law is clear: denying trans students their right to use school restrooms matching their gender identity violates Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment. "That's been the law, the binding case law for Wisconsin school districts for the last seven years. The school district knows it and they're ignoring it," said Wardenski.

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Wardenski P.C. | Civil Rights Law founder, Joseph Wardenski, was featured on the New York City Bar Association's most recent episode of This Lawyer's Life. Joe discusses his career as a civil rights attorney in government and private practice, his work advocating for the rights of #LGBTQ+ students, and why he chose to launch Wardenski P.C. nearly three years ago. Listen wherever you find podcasts, or at the link below.