KINGSTON, N.Y. — Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck retained an outside law firm to defend against a lawsuit brought against him by the state of Texas in an abortion fight.
Bruck returned the civil rights law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abrady Ward & Maazell of New York City on Aug. 1, which is 19 days before the Ulster County Legislature authorized $50,000 for Bruck’s defense.
Ulster County Legislator Jason Kovacs, R-town of Ulster, noted in an email to the Freeman on Wednesday, Aug. 20, a day after the voted, that the firm had been retained already. He shared a filing on state Supreme Court from that day, where the firm wrote that it “was retained by Mr. Bruck on August 1,2025.”
Bruck said Monday that filing deadlines in connection with the lawsuit needed to be met.
“We had to hire the attorney prior to the vote because there was a filing deadline coming up that didn’t allow us time to wait,” Bruck said in an email. “The agreement didn’t have a retainer fee, so there were no funds expended.”
Bruck said the firm has told him that when the funds run out it will represent him pro bono.
Deputy County Executive Amberly Jane Campbell said that Bruck needed to act quickly.
“Acting County Clerk Taylor Bruck made his choice of outside counsel, and a retainer agreement needed to be in place prior to session in order to meet a court deadline for filing,” Campbell said. “Importantly, the outside counsel was informed by the county attorney that the funding still needed to be approved by the Legislature, so the firm was fully aware of the risk when they signed the retainer.
“Information about the retainer agreement had not been shared with the Legislature because the county attorney was away at the time,” Campbell said.
On Aug. 20, the Ulster County Legislature, in a 14-8 party-line vote on to approved setting aside funds to hire outside counsel to defend Ulster Bruck against a lawsuit.
All Democrats voted in favor of the resolution setting aside $50,000 from the county’s contingency fund to pay for a civil rights attorney to represent Bruck in court earlier this month. All Republicans voted against the measure.
Democrats and members of the public, one of whom made a thank-you card for Bruck out of cardboard, cheered the passage of the resolution. Almost a dozen members of the public expressed support for the resolution and Bruck. None spoke against the resolution.
Legislator Limina Grace Harmon, D-New Paltz, had talked about the importance of the county standing up for its employee in the lawsuit. Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton filed the suit in state Supreme Court to force Bruck to file a $100,000 judgment awarded the state against a New Paltz doctor who mailed abortion-inducing drugs to a Texas woman. Bruck has refused to file the judgment, claiming it violates New York’s shield law, which protects providers and patients offering or seeking abortions in New York against efforts to impose criminal and civil liability originating from outside our state.
While Republicans stopped short of expressing pro-life statements in line with the party’s national platform on abortion, they have expressed concerns about what this legal cause could end up costing the county.
Herbert Litts, R-Lloyd, said he believed it was up to the state, which created the state laws, to provide for the defense of the clerk.
According to the resolution, the recommendation to hire a civil rights attorney to represent Bruck came from the County Attorney’s Office.
Campbell said on Monday that “Because Taylor was specifically named in the suit, he has to have his own defense.” Campbell added, “As the Article 78 case moves forward, it may occur that the Shield Law is challenged. At that point, the state may get involved to back state law.”
Bruck and the New Paltz doctor at the center of the case, Margaret “Maggie” Daley Carpenter, have both received support from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who in July praised Bruck for sending, “a simple message: hell no.” She said, “New York is grateful for his courage and common sense. This is New York. We’ll never back down from fighting for these fundamental rights.”
At around the same time, State Attorney General Letitia James commended Bruck “for doing what is right.” In a statement, James said, “New York’s shield law was created to protect patients and providers from out-of-state anti-choice attacks, and we will not allow anyone to undermine health care providers’ ability to deliver necessary care to their patients. My office will always defend New York’s medical professionals and the people they serve.”
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