DURING TWO HOURS of testimony in federal court on Tuesday, Brian Whitaker, a disabled person who frequently files lawsuits against small businesses under the Americans with Disabilities Act, outlined a new strategy that he believes will allow him to retain and potentially increase the federal lawsuits he brings in the Bay Area.

In responding to allegations that he does not have legal standing to sue in federal court because he does not genuinely intend to return to the places he sues, Whitaker testified that he and his lawyers have put a new program into place under which he will return to every place he sues.

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Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.