A Valley law firm has dropped a Washington D.C.-based animal rights group who will challenge Covance International's zoning case to build a medical facility in Chandler. Mindy Kursban, executive director for Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), confirmed Monday that the Phoenix law firm of Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A., will no longer represent the non-profit organization. "Gallagher & Kennedy will no longer represent us because they became aware of a conflict of interest and so they've decided to terminate our representation," Kursban said of the short-lived affiliation, which began in June.
Kursban declined to state what the conflict of interest was and Michael Kennedy, the law firm's main partner, did not return several phone calls placed by the Chandler Connection. However, he did e-mail the newspaper on Wednesday. "In response to your telephone calls and e-mail, I'm certain you will understand that we do not comment upon our client relationships," Kennedy wrote. "Thank you." The conflict of interest may stem from the fact that Karen Liepmann, an attorney with the law firm, sits on the Legal and Regulatory Affairs Committee of the Arizona BioIndustry Association (ABIA). The non-profit organization promotes innovations, entrepreneurialism and business development of the life sciences, and positions Arizona as a center of bioindustry excellence.
Jon McGarity, who is the ABIA's chief executive officer, confirmed an attorney with Gallagher & Kennedy sits on a subcommittee board, and deferred to the law firm. "We work with a lot of law firms, but I don't know if that has anything to do with a conflict of interest," McGarity said Tuesday. "That attorney was only at one meeting. You should probably talk to Gallagher & Kennedy."
Liepmann hosted a subcommittee meeting at the law firm on July 14. The subcommittee covered topics such as corporate securities, intellectual property, FDA matters and environmental matters. Covance filed a zoning application last month with the city for a state-of-the-art medical research facility and animal-testing lab. According to the preliminary development plan submitted by Covance, the company projects the 591,000-square-foot facility would employ approximately 1,200 people.
Kursban said despite the setback, her organization will not pursue litigation against Gallagher & Kennedy, and would remain focused on the group's long-term goal. "Our goal is still the same - we're going to continue to stop Covance from building in Chandler," Kursban said. Jan McClellan, an animal rights activist who heads up Citizens Against Covance, also said the long-term impact won't amount to much.
"It's no big deal," McClellan said Monday. "It won't have any effect on our determination to stop Covance from being built. It won't impact our efforts to educate the public about Covance's history of non-compliance with federal law and its deceptive tactics with Chandler residents and officials." Covance opponents have promised to launch a referendum drive if the Chandler City Council approves Covance's rezoning request.
Most likely, the council's approval will go to voters because approximately 1,300 signatures are required to force a referendum election.
|
