LDF attorneys referred to Stein’s firm as “LDF South,” said Rich Rosen, professor of law emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a former law clerk for the firm, who is Jewish. He added, “They really were the most significant locus of civil rights litigation in the country outside of the offices in New York.”

North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein declined to debate Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson as the Republican faces scrutiny over salacious comments he allegedly posted online. Stein and Robinson are engaged in a battle to become North Carolina’s next governor this fall.