The New Jersey Attorney General has filed its privilege log with the court, in Government Accountability & Oversight’s OPRA suit seeking OAJ’s contract with the law firm behind most governmental “climate” lawsuits, Sher Edling LLP. As the cover letter indicates, OAG has also filed its contracts under seal for the court to review.
That is one of two contracts with the firm, signed on behalf of the taxpayer, parts of which OAG is withholding. OAG’s position is that the energy company defendants, if they knew the arrangement, would take advantage of that knowledge by striving to drive a better bargain for the state.
There may be more behind these redactions than that for, as GAO has detailed to the court, numerous other client-states (or cities) have properly released their contracts.
The following provisions from the log pertaining to the climate contract are juxtaposed below with the withheld language. They involve when the firm would pay for experts, and other costs. As CLW readers know, the firm is being paid millions of dollars from activist charitable foundations to pursue these “contingency fee” lawsuits.
