There are a lot of reasons for the United States to be ashamed of itself right now, but if the country ever wanted to add a little bit more, it can recall that a global superpower allowed children to drink poisoned water for months and — six years after the fact — hasn’t fully finished fixing it. The crisis in Flint passed from a lot of people’s minds as newer miseries pushed it to the media back burner.
At White & Case, the matter remained front and center. The firm worked pro bono with the legal team representing the children of Flint including the ACLU of Michigan and the Education Law Center and reached a partial settlement in 2018 with the Michigan Department of Education, Genesee Intermediate School District, and Flint Community Schools. That settlement established a screening process to identify children displaying symptoms of lead poisoning and a second prong providing sophisticated psychological testing those children. A significant victory but it wasn’t the end of the fight.
Today, the firm announced that the new $600 million settlement with Michigan, which must still be approved by the court, will include a wide range of services tailored to address the long-term impact of the crisis including special education programs and universal pre-K.
Lindsay Heck, who we talked to back in 2018, offered the following:
“This is a landmark settlement in our special education case,” said Lindsay M. Heck, lead attorney from global law firm White & Case LLP, which worked on the case pro bono. “Lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes irreversible brain damage. There is no medical intervention that can completely counter the effects of lead exposure—education offers the only antidote. This settlement establishes a model to identify children with disabilities, to create structural changes that will ensure that those disabilities are properly addressed, and to prevent school discipline from being used as a substitute for behavioral interventions. It is a model that will not only transform the educational system for Flint children, but that establishes a framework for underfunded school districts in urban communities with deteriorating infrastructures that serve predominantly Black and Brown children. These communities have endured decades of educational disinvestment and environmental racism. We are committed to making sure this settlement turns Flint into a national symbol of resilience and hope.”
There’s still a lot of work to be done developing, implementing, and monitoring the settlement over the coming years, but today is a day for celebration. It’s a massive accomplishment and one that demonstrates the importance of pro bono efforts generally and the value a Biglaw firm can bring to the fight specifically.
(Check out the full terms of the settlement on the next page.)
Earlier: The Power Of Pro Bono: Biglaw Firm Scores Major Victory For Victims Of Flint Water Crisis
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.