Alexa T. Milton

On January 7, 2022, Relman Colfax and co-counsel the National Student Legal Defense Network filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against Walden University, a for-profit university that solely offers online degree programs. This lawsuit, brought under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, alleges that Walden engaged in “reverse redlining” by intentionally targeting Black and female students for what appears to be a cost- and time-effective online degree program, but ultimately amounts to an expensive predatory scheme.

On October 6, 2021, Relman Colfax filed a lawsuit in Indiana federal court alleging that Old National Bank engaged in lending discrimination in Indianapolis in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Led by Megan Cacace, Relman Colfax conducted a two-year Civil Rights Audit of Facebook along with civil rights and civil liberties leader Laura Murphy.  Megan and the Relman Colfax team provided analysis on the civil rights implications of the company’s policies and practices, and recommendations for improvement, and documented their findings in three public reports.

This class action lawsuit successfully challenged Wisconsin Medicaid's categorical exclusion on gender-confirming treatments for transgender beneficiaries with gender dysphoria.

In a historic victory for Ashton Whitaker, a transgender student in Wisconsin, the firm secured a landmark Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in 2017 recognizing that Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment protect transgender students from discrimination at school. The firm obtained an $800,000 settlement in January 2018.

Relman Colfax filed suit against the City of Peoria, alleging that the City intentionally targeted enforcement of its “chronic nuisance ordinance” in predominantly African-American neighborhoods and against buildings with predominantly African-American tenants, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. On August 31, 2020, HOPE settled its claims. Pursuant to the settlement, the City amended the ordinance and police department policies to ensure nondiscriminatory enforcement of the Ordinance and to protect tenant rights.

This Fair Housing Act lawsuit against the City of LaGrange, Georgia challenged the City's utility service policies—including denying utility services to individuals with unpaid court debt and requiring a Social Security number to obtain utilities—for having an unlawful disparate impact on African Americans and Latinos.