In July, Partner Greg Gutzler spoke with former Maryland Governor and First Lady Bob and Kendel Ehrlich on their podcast, Bottom Line, about his work bringing sexual predators to justice and providing support to survivors of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
Described as a “go-to advocate for victims of sexual abuse,” Greg discussed the difficulties of holding powerful and influential defendants accountable, the barriers that prevent survivors from coming forward, the role of civil litigation in achieving justice for survivors, and the ways that attorneys and society at large can elevate the voices of survivors.
“I think every human being with any moral conscience agrees that this is a fundamental, existential issue to our culture, to our society, to who we are as human beings,” Greg said. “What’s amazing is how little of sex trafficking is reported.”
Part of alleviating that problem, he said, is providing “a safe haven for survivors to come forward where they will be believed and protected.”
That is the environment Greg has strived to create in his role as lead counsel representing survivors in the largest international sex trafficking lawsuit in U.S. history: the case against former fashion mogul Peter Nygard and his companies that spans six countries and more than 50 years of rape, sexual assault, and trafficking of hundreds of women and girls.
“You see through this case that the ability to use power and influence really did dominate the ability of these individual women to have a platform to have their truth heard,” Greg told the Ehrlichs. “Until you get them put together in a group of people where they can be bonded together and make sure they have the power and a legal team and investigators and law enforcement, they really have no chance. So we really have committed ourselves to giving them a platform for truth and vindication and putting a spotlight on really what’s going on.”
The Ehrlichs also highlighted Greg’s work to help launch Justice for Our Daughters, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to identifying perpetrators of sexual abuse, bringing them to justice, and providing resources to survivors of sexual abuse through trauma-informed advocates and experts.
Click here to listen to the Bottom Line interview with Greg Gutzler.