Gloria Allred, the high-profile civil litigator who represents Sandra Fluke and who has called for the criminal prosecution of Rush Limbaugh, has built her career on representing alleged victims–mostly women, and ofte in the spotlight of the national media.
Allred’s firm, Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, is a Los Angeles-based employee rights firm and has handled some of the most sensational cases and victim representations in the past 30 years.
Allred’s most famous clients include Amber Frey in the Scott Petersen murder trial; Nicole Brown Simpson’s family during the O.J. Simpson case; and the family of Jordan Chandler, Michael Jackson’s first accuser.
In 1986, Allred actually won an award from President Reagan for her work on child support enforcement in California, and she told Breitbart.com that she is now handling a case that may be the first of its kind in Los Angeles:a sex discrimination case for a male client who applied for a job in the television industry and was turned down.
“They ended up hiring a woman instead,” Allred said in an exclusive telephone interview this morning. “I think it could be the first of its kind for this area.”
The question remains, however, whether Allred’s high-profile press conferences and publicity stunts — apparently calculated for maximum political effect — actually achieve anything for her clients.
Breitbart.com studied seventeen major cases Allred has taken on in the past five years to determine if she has stayed the course after getting initial media attention.
In every case, Allred appears to have either negotiated a settlement when litigation actually ensued or successfully represented her client to a resolution — after she had gone public with her client’s allegations.
Some cases were dismissed–either for lack of a cause of action or because both sides filed for a joint dismissal with prejudice and came to a resolution outside of the court system.
Regardless, Allred’s cases rarely proceed to the trial phase.
Allred told Breitbart.com: “Most civil cases resolve themselves at some point; they settle at some point prior to trial — even in criminal cases as well. In criminal cases the result is public, but in civil cases the resolution often confidential.”
Here is a short summary of some of the most interesting celebrities or organizations Allred sued or took action against and the resolution of each caase. In some instances, judges dismissed her cases, but Allred stuck it out and fought until the bitter end:
2006 CASE: Allred represented three women who sued Sacha Baron Cohen for using undercover filming tactics.
THE RESULT: The case was ultimately dismissed by a U.S. District judge who determined that they did not have a valid cause of action under the circumstances.
2007 CASE: Allred represented a woman accusing actor Esai Morales of sexual misconduct.
THE RESULT: Allred dropped the case, and another lawyer took over just as Morales’s attorney was requesting the names of other women the complainant claimed were also sexually assaulted by Morales. Those names were not produced.
2007 CASE: Allred sued Circuit City on behalf of a large class of employees who sued for age discrimination.
THE RESULT: Settled in 2008 for $15 Million.
2007 CASE: Represented former Britney Spears bodyguard Tony Barretto in a complex child custody case involving spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline.
THE RESULT: Settled.
2008 CASE: Allred represented a woman who was harassed by TSA in a Lubbock, TX airport.
THE RESULT: TSA apologized and admitted there was a need to change its policies as a result — within 24 hours.
2008 CASE: Allred represented two gay couples that were denied the right to marry by the State of California.
THE RESULT: On May 15, 2008 the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage.
2008 CASE: Allred represented two women who had worked as nannies for Rob Lowe and had accused him of sexual harassment.
THE RESULT: Both women ultimately sought dismissal of the case. (Was there a confidential settlement?)
2009 CASE: Allred represented Tiger Woods’s alleged mistress against him.
THE RESULT: Allred obtained a reported $10 million settlement for her client.
2009 CASE: Allred represented a former girlfriend of Illinois Lieutenant Gubernatorial Candidate Scott Lee Cohen when she came forward and said he once held a knife to her throat.
THE RESULT: None; the ex-girlfriend went public, and Allred fulfilled her representation responsibilities.
2010 CASE: Allred represented English actress Charlotte Lewis against director Roman Polanski. She accused the director of sexually assaulting her when she was 16 years old. Polanski had remained in exile evading criminal charges for decades for an alleged incident that occurred at Jack Nicholson’s home when he reportedly drugged and molested a 13-year old girl during what was supposed to be a photo shoot for a French Vogue magazine.
THE RESULT: Allred went public with Lewis and fulfilled her representation responsibilities by reporting the alleged incident to the Los Angeles Police Department and District Attorney’s Office.
2010 CASE: Allred represented a woman who had worked with actor David Boreanaz and claimed to have received numerous sexually harassing text messages from him.
THE RESULT: A settlement was reached.
2010 CASE: In perhaps her most controversial case, Allred represented an illegal immigrant, Nicky Diaz Santillan, who had worked as a housekeeper for Meg Whitman, the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee in California. Santillan allegedly worked for Whitman for nearly nine years from 2000-2009 for $23 an hour, 15 hours a week. Whitman said she did not know Santillan was an illegal immigrant and even had her sign a statement acknowledging that she was a legal resident. Allred countered produced a 2003 letter from the Social Security Administration about Santillan which she said should have been a red flag. The incident significantly damaged Whitman’s campaign and ultimately exposed Allred’s own client to potential deportation. The incident prompted suspicion on behalf of Republicans who believes Allred’s announcement was a publicity stunt designed to benefit Democratic candidate Jerry Brown.
In a statement that she read to the press, Santillan professed that she had not been acting as a Democratic accomplice.
2011 CASE: Allred represented a family that was reportedly threatened by baseball player Roger McDowell at a San Francisco Giants game. The family said that McDowell became upset with them and made verbal threats and then simulated a sex act in front of the complainant’s underage daughters.
THE RESULT: McDowell apologized.
2011 CASE: Allred represented Ginger Lee, a former pornographic actress who came forward and said that former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner had coached her how to lie about his “sexting.”
THE RESULT: None; Lee went public and Allred fulfilled her representation responsibilities.
2011 CASE: Allred is representing several cocktail waitresses against the Resorts Casino Hotel in New Jersey, which fired them, allegedly, for refusing to wear “sexy” outfits.
THE RESULT: She was allowed to join as co-counsel by the judge last October and the case is still pending.
2011: Allred represented Sharon Bialek, who publicly announced that she had engaged in an extramarital affair with former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.
THE RESULT: None; Bialek went public and Allred fulfilled her representation responsibilities.
2012: Allred wrote a letter on behalf of a Florida organization that is working with Sandra Fluke in her debacle with Rush Limbaugh.
THE RESULT: None; the letter received national media attention.
Allred concluded by telling Breitbart.com:
In the last 10 years alone we have won over 250 million dollars for victims. We have done more women’s rights cases than any other firm in the country and we are very proud of our record and our client’s courage.
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