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James Spung

James advises clients on a broad range of civil litigation matters before federal and state courts. He has particular experience with large public companies in a diverse array of industries, such as communications and mass media, consumer goods, credit reporting, healthcare and forestry.

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Recently, Attorney General Pam Bondi purportedly issued an internal memorandum in response to Executive Order 14187 (“Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation”) concerning the treatment of transgender minors by medical practitioners, hospitals, clinics, and pharmaceutical companies. The memo set forth guidance for all Department of Justice (DOJ) employees to investigate individuals and entities who provide gender-affirming care to minor patients. To be clear, the memorandum—which has been posted in various locations on the internet and widely reported on by various media outlets but has not been verified as authentic by Husch Blackwell—is an internal policy statement directed to DOJ personnel and is not law. While it purports to issue “guidelines” pursuant to an executive order from the President, that executive order is itself under scrutiny (and has been partially enjoined).

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer worked diligently to develop safe and effective vaccines. Following the FDA’s approval of these vaccines, many state governments and private employers—including those in the educational and medical fields—implemented policies requiring certain individuals obtain them. Some individuals subject to these policies have been challenging them in court ever since under a variety of constitutional and statutory arguments, largely without success. These cases typically alleged that government mandates violated the right to bodily integrity under the Fourteenth Amendment and that private employer mandates violated laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability and/or religious beliefs.