In this episode of Coffee With Q, host Cami Ayegari interviews legal reporter Rene Perras about the 4th annual Shades of Mass conference held at the Los Angeles JW Marriott. Shades of Mass is an association dedicated to increasing Black and brown representation among consumer‑justice attorneys, addressing the historic over‑exposure of people of color to corporate misconduct, hazardous products, and environmental harms. The conversation outlines the organization’s mission, its current leadership—President Ben Crump (finishing a two‑year term) and incoming President Navin Ward—and highlights the impressive roster of retired and active judges and prominent plaintiffs’ lawyers who attended. The episode details the first‑day speakers, including state attorneys general Raul Torres, Erin Ford, and Rob Bonta, as well as Baltimore City Solicitor Ebony Thompson, who discussed using blockchain to remediate thousands of blighted properties. The final day focused on the Altadena 2025 wildfire, attributing liability to Southern California Edison, describing the fast‑track trial set for January 2027, and exploring the myriad challenges—soil contamination, water and electric infrastructure, loss of FEMA aid, and political pressures—that impede rebuilding a multicultural community of roughly 10,000 homes. Throughout, the hosts emphasize the importance of diverse legal advocacy for disenfranchised communities and invite listeners to learn more at shadesofmass.org.
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Welcome to a quick recap of legal news in America. I'm Cami Ayegari with my husband and partner Renee Perah, legal news reporter for Coffee with Q. His travels last month took him to Los Angeles for the 4th annual Shades of Mass event hosted at the LA JW Marriott. I'm glad we're doing this together today.
And so am I.
Okay, so let's jump right in. Renee, can you tell us what Shades of Mass is?
Well, Shades of Mass is an association that was conceived to better represent people of color by having Black and brown consumer justice attorneys represent these people from these communities.
Can you elaborate on that? Why is Shades of Mass important?
Shades of Mass is important because Black and brown communities have historically borne the brunt of corporate misconduct, have experienced faulty products and been injured, as well as being exposed to environmental hazards. So for example, issues like hair relaxer, which was a product conceived and ended up being laced with toxic and potentially deadly chemicals for the most part, was marketed to communities of color. In many NEC baby formula cases, premature babies who came from brown and black lower socioeconomic families were given baby formula as a vital source of nutrition in the ICU. Altadena, a large multicultural community where the fire insurance litigation has disproportionately impacted Hispanic, Black and Asian people, yet the Black and brown legal representation for these and other major cases is alarmingly low, thus creating a significant cultural imbalance in the courtroom. This lack of diversity means that those most affected by corporate wrongdoing often lack a strong voice in the legal system. Shades of Mass's mission to that as depicted on their website. is there to empower more Black and brown lawyers to lead these cases, ensuring a more balanced and fair representation, while at the same time holding corporations and insurance companies accountable for their actions.
Who's involved? Who's taking on these corporations?
The people involved are primarily lawyers and retired judges from the federal circuit, state, district, and county courts. These legal professionals provide advice and guidance to both young and seasoned attorneys. This year produced an impressive list of retired and active judges from the District Court of California to the D.C. Appellate Circuit Court. Active and in attendance from the bench were Michelle Childs from the Appellate Circuit Court in D.C., Northern District of California Senior Court Judge William Oreck, We had LA County Superior Court Judge David Cunningham. Also in attendance and retired from the bench were Central District of California Chief Judge Philip Gutierrez. From the Oakland County Circuit Court, Judge Denise Langford Morris. The Southern District of Texas produced the Honorable Vanessa Gilmore, and we also had the Honorable Randa M. Trapp and Honorable Glenda Sanders. From the plaintiffs' bar, we had some notable attendees. We had Larry Taylor of the Cochran Firm, who is currently president-elect. Deandra Fu DeBose of DiCello Levitt, immediate past president. We had former South Carolina senator, state senator, Marlon E. Kimson of Motley Rice. Priscilla Jimenez of Klein Specter, secretary and board member. Treasurer Shridhar Patel of Simon Greenstone Panettiere out of Houston, uh, Lerubi May of May and Young from D.C., Gregory Cade of the Environmental Litigation Group, and we had Carl Solomon of the Solomon Law Group.
That's an impressive group of judges and lawyers.
It sure is.
Can you tell us about Shades of Mass' current leadership?
This year's current leadership includes Ben Crump, who is finishing off his 2-year term as president in December. Waiting to replace him is Navin Ward, a partner at Beasley Allen in Montgomery, Alabama. Navin is a past president of one of the largest trial lawyer groups in the U.S., the American Association for Justice. Ben Crump is known by most of his friends and colleagues As Black America's Attorney General because of his involvement in representing victims in high-profile civil rights and personal injury cases. He successfully represented the family of George Floyd and secured a pretrial settlement against the Minneapolis Police Department for $27 million. Also, the family of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old shot and killed during a no-knock police raid in Louisville, Kentucky. Where the city settled with her family for $12 million and agreed to police reforms. In an injury case for the ages, attorney Ben Crump represented the family of Henrietta Lacks 70 years after her death, which is kind of unheard of. Ben was instrumental in securing a confidential settlement for her family. The legal action was against a biochemical company that had illegally acquired cervical cells harvested by Johns Hopkins Hospital.
He really sounds like one of the most important people's champions of his generation.
Yeah, I believe that's true.
Who were the speakers on the first day?
Well, the first day, Ben Crump started off by welcoming the attendees at the Presidential Awards Luncheon. This year's event featured 3 prominent state attorney generals. AG Raul Torres of New Mexico, AG Erin Ford of Nevada, and we had Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California. AG Torres and Ford were both presented with awards for their tireless work as champions of justice. All 3 AGs have joined the multi-state coalition of the 18 Democratic states in support of D.C.'s challenge to fight President Trump's National Guard takeover. The keynote dinner speaker featured was also an important guest, the Baltimore City Solicitor Ebony Thompson, a former Marine and champion litigator. She was instrumental in securing nearly $600 million for the city of Baltimore in the opioid litigation crisis. She led the opioid effort in 2023 when Baltimore was the only Maryland county To opt out of receiving the global settlement for the state. And as Baltimore's city attorney, it was a gamble at the time, but it has turned out to be an impressive recovery for the residents of Baltimore.
Did you get a chance to speak with her?
I did. I happened to ask her about some new technology that Baltimore's been using. She was successful. persuading Baltimore to start using blockchain to help remedy the nearly 13,000 blighted properties. When I asked how the idea came about, she quickly responded, I learned about blockchain by taking a course at MIT. She also shared her plans to continue using blockchain technology to register all future property transactions in Baltimore. It's something I'm working on Can you tell us about the final day of the event? Saturday was a full day, and it didn't disappoint. We had Attorney General Rob Bonta address the attendees, and he spoke about his American and Filipino heritage, how he had attended Yale as an undergraduate and then attended Yale Law School. He spoke about his parents' early activism with Cesar Chavez. Arguably one of the most important people's champions for workers' rights in California history. Also how they met the late Reverend Martin Luther King, and he described how this had a profound influence on his parents, nurturing their drive towards community activism. Rob's parents were first-rate examples of people fighting for the poor and disenfranchised. They taught him to stand up and stand tall for justice. The final program was about the California fires that ravaged California in January of 2025, but the discussion revolved more specifically around the Altadena fire and how that community is still unable to rebuild. It's already been determined that Southern California Edison, SCE, are responsible for the fire due to alleged negligent and mismanagement of infrastructure. The trial date is set for January 2027, which in the world of litigation is extremely fast. The rebuilding of a once vibrant community is being hamstrung due to the many factors surrounding the area. This section of the program was probably the most heart-wrenching part of the event. The panel discussion led by attorney Ann Andrews of Andrews and Thornton, Steven Lopez of Gibbs Mura, and Lisa A. Roberts of Panashe Ravipudi highlighted the many factors impeding reconstruction for Altadena. Altadena has— happens to be an unincorporated community in LA County. The area has been devastated on many fronts. Everything from contaminated soil requiring remediation, rebuilding a new electric grid, and restoring drinking water, especially difficult when the community was serviced by multiple water companies. All this makes Altadena's future for water, a viable electric grid, safe soil to rebuild on, a definite uncertainty. The dismantling of FEMA, who in regular times would be front and center providing help, had their funding removed, leaving no federal help of any kind or support for the distressed Altadena, California fire survivors. To complicate matters, Governor Newsom must walk a tightrope between holding those responsible for the disaster accountable and ensuring they remain solvent enough to fund the compensation needed to rebuild the community. Altadena is just one area with close to 10,000 homes destroyed, still waiting nearly 10 months later for someone or something to come to their rescue.
It's so horrible. I'm glad there are people trying to help, even though these are such complex problems. Thank you for sharing with me what people go through when they're displaced, injured, and disenfranchised. As a woman of color myself, I feel better knowing there is a team of lawyers fighting for Black and brown communities. If anyone wants to learn more about Shades of Mass and the work they do, you can go to shadesofmass.org. Thank you for joining us today. Renee will shortly be off to another event, and I hope you come back to join us to learn more about the civil justice system in America. Thank you.
