Taking Down Mob Bosses and Taking Out Bike Lanes
Crain’s New York business has a fluff piece on Gibson Dunn attorney Jim Walden. The interview plays up his case history and pro bono work, and includes some questions about his involvement with Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes:
Do you bike?
I did bike until my bike was stolen out of my building in 2005. I had this amazing Jazz Vertical mountain bike. My wife had a Trek, and during our courting period, we used to go on these completely reckless rides in Philadelphia. With three young kids, I don’t ride that much anymore, but hopefully when they are older, we’ll all bike more.
Someone in his firm should tell him that if there were more separated bike lanes like the one he’s suing to remove, he’d wouldn’t have to wait until his kids are older to go biking with them.
And since he’s been gone from Philadephia it’s turned into one of the best cities for bike commuting in the country. Thank goodness there’s no one in Philly like Jim Walden trying to roll back that city’s progress.
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Brooklyn Spoke 
Walden’s response here echoes pretty closely a sentiment expressed in the first part of Cassidy’s misconceived bike lane rant — which is that bicycling, although suitable for youth who are reckless and adventurous, is an activity that one eventually outgrows when settling down to start a family. Unfortunately, this cements the view that biking is a necessarily dangerous and inherently fringe mode of transportation that is incompatible with family life. Of course the relief sought by his clients contributes directly to that status quo perception. So rather than actually address your point that high-quality bike facilities bring in riders of all ages and skill levels, it’s easier for him to shrug this off as an inescapable reality with his token, noncommittal “hopefully we’ll bike more when the kids grow up” statement.
It’s ludicrous that Jimmy’s pro bono cases include an investigation into the trampling of a low-paid Walmart employee, disabled people who were denied their Social Security benefits and…a group of millionaires and a senators wife who don’t like a bike lane.
I know Walden’s putting this big PR push out there to make a name for himself as something other than the bike lane lawyer, but he should be forever known as just that…the guy who took on a frivolous case to help Chuck Schumer’s wife.
So let the guy brag about his noble pro bono cases…it will only make his involvement in Iris’ pet peeve seem all the more suspicious.
Jim Walden better make sure he gets a Schumer appointment because he sure as hell isn’t going back into government as an elected official after what he’s done on Prospect Park West.
Additionally, have you actually seen the man speak on TV or in person? He could not be less appealing.