Sokoloff Stern LLP

10/05/2026

09/01/2026

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has just affirmed a federal district court's dismissal of a case by three teachers who challenged a school district's directive to all teachers to remove from their classroom any flags besides the flags of the United States and State of New York and any flag germane to the curriculum of the classroom (like a French flag in French class.)

The Connetquot School District issued the edict after a student complained about the large gay pride flag and "Progress Pride flag" a teacher hung in her room as shown in the photo below. The District acted to enforce its longstanding policy forbidding teachers from bringing their politics into the classroom. The "no flag" edit required the teacher to remove those flags during class hours. Three teachers sued the District, claiming a First Amendment right to display the flags.

After the United States District Court for the Eastern District dismissed the teachers' federal claims, they appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court ruled that the teachers do not have a First Amendment right to speech they utter as teachers and that the School District has the right to control what is on the walls of its classrooms. The Second Circuit also ruled that (1) the teachers did not have a valid claim under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and (2) the teachers did not have a claim for employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Brian S. Sokoloff and Blair Hendricks have represented the school district from the beginning of the case. Brian argued the case to a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit earlier this year.

05/28/2026

SOKOLOFF STERN VICTORY FOR THE TOWN OF EAST HAMPTON
After seven years of litigation on behalf of the Town of East Hampton, the court granted Sokoloff Stern's motion to vacate a court-ordered settlement that the Town Board had never authorized.

In the latest twist to a long-running dispute between East Hampton Town and Marc Rowan, who owns Duryea’s Lobster Deck in Montauk, a New York State Supreme Court judge has granted the town’s motion to vacate a 2019 stipulation of settlement with Mr. Rowan, and directed that the status quo be mai...