republican backed

May 1 (Reuters) – A lawyer in the Florida attorney general’s office has left to join U.S. law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, the firm said Monday.

Deputy Solicitor General Evan Ezray has rejoined the firm’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida office as a partner, the firm said. Ezray previously worked at the law firm co-founded by prominent lawyer David Boies from 2017 to 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Ezray said he stayed in touch with his mentor at Boies Schiller — Stuart Singer, who co-leads the firm’s appellate practice — while in government service. When Singer talked about him rejoining the firm, “that was something I was really interested in,” Ezray added.

“We’re building a breadth of knowledge about appeals, especially appeals in Florida,” Ezray said about the Fort Lauderdale office.

The solicitor general is the chief appellate attorney for the state of Florida and part of the Florida attorney general‘s office. Boies Schiller touted Ezray’s experience working on cases before both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Federal court records show Ezray represented a group of Florida state lawmakers who were subpoenaed by civil rights groups challenging Republican-backed voting restrictions, including limits on ballot drop boxes. The lawmakers successfully quashed the subpoenas after they volunteered to turn over documents to the groups.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee ruled in March 2022 that the voting restrictions intentionally discriminated against minority voters. But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld the restrictions.

Ezray’s arrival at Boies Schiller comes days after the Walt Disney Co sued Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing him of illegally using the state government to punish the company for voicing an opinion that should be protected by free-speech rights.

An oversight board appointed by DeSantis on Monday said