25 Investigates: Failed attempt to oust Mass. Cannabis chair leaves taxpayers with hefty legal bill

I'm investigative reporter Ted Daniel. 25 Investigates getting answers about how much a failed attempt to fire the head of the state's Cannabis Control Commission cost. CCC Chair Shannon O'Brien got her job back in September after a two-year legal battle that cost taxpayers a million dollars. September 2023, state treasurer Deb Goldberg accused Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O'Brien of making racially, ethnically, and culturally insensitive statements and creating a hostile work environment. O'Brien denied the allegations, but was suspended and then fired a year after that. O'Brien sued for wrongful termination and she won. A superior court judge gave O'Brien her job back with full backpack. The judge called the case against her thin as grl and a house of cards. 25 investigates wanted to know how much the legal battle cost. We requested all the invoices and found the state's loss was an expensive one. The treasurer's office hired the firm of Morgan Lewis and Bakius on Federal Street in Boston and their invoices piled up to a total cost of $955,000. That's mostly legal fees, but also for things like data, copying, and user fees, and even catering services. In November 2023, lawyers racked up more than 200 hours at a rate of $488 bucks per hour, plus another grand in fees. That bill that month alone cost $105,000. In March of 2024, the firm build 175 hours with certain partners charging 865 bucks an hour for a total of more than 120,000 and more fees. A few months, the firm did offer discounts totaling $69,000. Without those discounts, the total would have surged over a million. We reached out to both sides about what we uncovered. Commissioner O'Brien emphasized the judge's comments about the case being a quote house of cards, adding, "This was costly to me financially and professionally." O'Brien goes on to say, "Questions about the cost must be addressed to the treasurer's office. My current focus is to ensure that the CCC is more transparent and accountable for the public funds it spends." Treasurer Goldberg declined to comment. for 25 investigates.