Court records show Elizabeth Warren turned down lucrative job after hearing from consumer group

Democratic presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren refused to take a lucrative legal job in 2006 after a consumer advocacy group raised concerns about the work, earning the fury of an attorney who had sought to hire her, court documents show.

The records from more than a decade ago, connected to a lawsuit against two credit reporting giants, shed new light on Warren’s motivations for taking on private legal work amid criticism from fellow contenders who have sought to cast the Massachusetts progressive as a hired gun for big business. The legal papers reviewed by CNBC show that years before Warren gained a national reputation as a zealous consumer advocate, a reputation that’s now at the center of her bid for the White House, she refused to take on an $850 per hour case, because she didn’t believe it would advance principles consistent with her beliefs.

... The email records (also) provide a behind-the-scenes look at Warren’s negotiating style, showing her to be a fierce advocate for her own independence. After Sherman explained in an email that he believed he had hired Warren and that he did not want her to work for the NCLC, Warren wrote that she was “quite surprised that you believe you have retained me.”

“I have no present plans to serve as an expert for NCLC, but I am free to do so,” Warren added. “If I decide that I want to serve as their expert, then I will do so.” Sherman responded that if she attempted to serve as an expert for the NCLC, that he would seek to disqualify her from participating in the case. He noted that “I do not make this statement as a threat.”

“Don’t threaten me,” Warren responded. “You called to ask if I would serve as your expert. Asking the question does not give you any claim on me. I will offer expert reports when I think they are appropriate. You cannot strong-arm me either into writing such a report for you or withholding one from someone else.” Sherman told Warren that he did not intend his message as a threat, but instead wanted to be “on record with our position and intentions on this issue, which I now am.” Warren responded curtly several hours later: “And I am on record with my position and intentions.”

More at https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/16/elizabeth-warren-turned-down-lucrative-job-over-advocacy-group-concerns.html