The Busy, Expensive World Of Ken Paxton’s Lawsuits

In his capacity as Texas Attorney General, nobody could accuse Ken Paxton of keeping a light schedule. In this last month he has filed a flurry of lawsuits: ranging from attempts to stop Texas counties from sending out voter registration applications; to suing the Biden Administration over a federal rule that shields healthcare records for women seeking abortion out of the state; and trying to stop the State Fair of Texas from enacting a gun safety law.

Going into his tenth year as the state’s highest attorney, Paxton remains busier than ever. And one way he maintains that robust schedule is through hiring outside counsel, even when he is defending himself or his office. Earlier this year the Texas Tribune reported that the law firm Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP received nearly $700,000 to defend Paxton in a whistleblower lawsuit.

In 2020, seven members of Paxton’s staff reported concerns to federal authorities that he was abusing the powers of the office of Attorney General. All of those aides were subsequently fired, resigned, or placed on leave. Four of those fired aides then filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Paxton. And while Paxton survived a trial in the Texas Senate over their allegations, the lawsuit remained.

Paxton would rely upon that same law firm Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP for several other cases his office was litigating. Public records that Texas Signal reviewed show that between September 2023 to August 2024 Paxton’s office hired the law firm Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP as outside counsel to defend a Trump era-education rule that weakened sexual harassment protections. Texas was an intervenor in the case Women’s Student Union v. The Department of Education.

Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP also served as an outside counsel after Twitter sued Paxton for his investigation into them after the service suspended the account of former President Trump following the Insurrection of January 6. A contract showed that Paxton’s office hired the law firm in a contract from September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2023. Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP was also paid $37,721.42 for services in January 2024 related to the whistleblower lawsuit.  

Paxton’s office has also contracted other firms including Brown, Lacallade & Lange, PC, in relation to the whistleblower complaint. In February 2024, the Texas Attorney General’s office paid $2,876 to Brown, Lacallade & Lange, PC after they attempted to secure a temporary restraining order against Paxton from the whistleblowers.  

Further spending with outside counsels continued in December of last year after Media Matters of America sued Paxton for violating their first amendment rights after his office launched an investigation into the organization. In announcing his investigation, Paxton called Media Matters a “radical anti-free speech organization.”

The Texas Attorney General’s office hired Schaerr Jaffe LLP as outside counsel to defend Paxton against Media Matters for America. In February 2024, Paxton’s office paid $13,032.50 to Schaerr Jaffe LLP for their services performed in December 2023.

Gene Schaerr has spoken at numerous events for the conservative legal group The Federalist Society. He is also the attorney of record for the actress Gina Carano, who filed a discrimination lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm after she was fired from The Mandalorian for comparing being a conservative in Hollywood to being Jewish during the Holocaust.  

Currently Paxton is facing numerous calls for an investigation into the election integrity unit of his office after they conducted a series of searches on volunteers and members with the Latino civil rights organization LULAC. New York Attorney General Tish James, along with fifteen other Attorneys General, is urging the Department of Justice to look into Paxton’s conduct.

Previously, Texas Signal has reported about the extensive history between Paxton and LULAC. Another outside counsel that he hired in a case LULAC et al v. Abbott was Ard Law Group PLLC. In February 2023, the office of the Texas attorney general hired Ard Law Group PLLC as outside counsel for LULAC et al v. Abbott et al. 

In April 2023, Paxton’s office paid $2,548 to Ard Law Group for their services performed in February 2023. Despite the outside counsel contract specifying Ard Law Group would serve as local counsel, the lawsuit’s court docket did not include lead counsel Joel Ard, who had previously worked as an attorney on a case opposing LULAC in Washington State.