As part of Brown, Goldstein & Levy’s continued celebration of Pride Month, attorneys Monica Basche, Lauren DiMartino, Anthony May, and Jamie Strawbridge helped honor the LGBTQIA+ community at several events throughout June.
On June 3, Jamie volunteered with FreeState Justice at Baltimore Trans Pride. Monica and Anthony volunteered for FreeState Justice at the Pride of Mt. Vernon on June 17, a community event to help individuals connect and appreciate neighborhood LGBTQIA+ artists, businesses, and residents. On June 24, Lauren and Anthony attended the Maryland Democratic Party’s LGBTQIA+ Pride Brunch and reception before marching in the Baltimore Pride Parade alongside LGBTQIA+ community leaders, elected officials, and allies. Governor Moore, who was grand marshal of the parade, also walked the parade with Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and members of the Maryland Democratic Party. Lastly, Monica and Lauren volunteered for FreeState Justice at Pride in the Park on June 25. The event featured a 5K race, over 100 vendors, a variety of performers, and great food and drink for Baltimore’s LGBTQIA+ community to enjoy.
FreeState Justice is the only statewide advocacy organization that provides both legal services and policy advocacy to serve the needs of LGBTQIA+ Marylanders. BGL is committed to advancing LGBTQIA+ rights – a mission that extends beyond our work as litigators. We have partnered with FreeState Justice to provide pro bono representation to transgender individuals seeking name changes and decrees of legal gender identity. We were proud to work with FreeState Justice to secure asylum for two gay men from Central America fleeing persecution. Brown, Goldstein & Levy has also partnered with FreeState Justice on several employment and health care discrimination cases.
Lauren and Anthony currently represent the plaintiff in Doe v. Catholic Relief Services in a lawsuit against Catholic Relief Services (CRS). They obtained a federal district court victory on behalf of a married gay employee who challenged CRS’s withdrawal of health insurance benefits for his husband under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act and are currently representing John Doe in the Supreme Court of Maryland on interpretations of the Maryland Equal Pay Act and the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act.
Monica Basche represents clients in civil rights cases, including disability rights, housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and prisoners’ rights. Monica also has experience with commercial litigation and business disputes. Read more about Monica here.
Lauren A. DiMartino represents clients across various areas of civil rights law, including fair housing, education and disability rights, police misconduct, and workplace discrimination. Her practice also includes appeals, commercial litigation, and criminal defense. Read more about Lauren here.
Anthony J. May has represented clients in a variety of complex litigation matters including artificial intelligence, assisting employees with disabilities in obtaining accessible technology and accommodations in the workplace, representing individuals who have been wrongfully convicted, commercial litigation disputes, and fighting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Read more about Anthony here.
Jamie Strawbridge’s practice includes cases involving civil rights, disability rights, housing discrimination, and commercial litigation. Jamie has represented individuals and companies in cases involving discrimination, harassment, police misconduct, contractual disputes, and products liability claims. His appellate experience includes drafting appeals in federal and state court and briefs in opposition to petitions for certiorari before the Supreme Court. Read more about Jamie’s practice here.
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.