Chicago City Wire

The City of Chicago has retained the national plaintiffs’ law firm Motley Rice LLC on a contingency-fee basis to assist with litigation against Glock, Inc., according to documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by Chicago City Wire.

The engagement letter, dated June 11, 2024, states that Motley Rice will represent the city in “litigating claims regarding unlawful business practices related to Glock, Inc., including any related entities, and distributors and/or retailers of Glock products.” The contract confirms the firm’s services are being provided on a contingency-fee basis, but the specific financial terms—outlined in an Exhibit A referenced in the agreement—were not included in the materials released by the city.

Mimi Liu, an attorney based in Motley Rice’s Washington, D.C. office, is listed as the primary contact for the matter. Legal activities are being coordinated through Stephen J. Kane of the City of Chicago Law Department.

Chicago City Wire has submitted this FOIA request as part of its commitment to providing comprehensive news coverage on local governmental affairs, in conjunction with The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating government actions through FOIA and Sunshine Laws.

The decision by local governments to hire contingency-fee lawyers for such litigation was the topic of a recent white paper published by the Washington Legal Foundation, authored by former Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson (R). While the paper focuses on lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic, it raises broader legal questions about whether cities and counties have the authority to bring lawsuits on behalf of the public—an authority traditionally reserved for state attorneys general. Peterson argues that allowing local governments to pursue public-impact litigation through outside counsel could blur legal lines and create conflicts with state-level legal strategies.