Morgan Simon - Candide Group
Sources
Morgan Simon is a founding partner of Candide Group, which works with families, foundations, athletes, and cultural influences who want their money working for social justice. As a registered investment advisor their primary activity is social investing, but part of their mission is to change the culture of money. In that context Simon serves as a Senior Contributor to Forbes, and has written extensively about the link between banks, private prisons, and immigrant detention. Simon has called attention to CoreCivic, one of the largest private prison operators in the United States, and its role in mass incarceration and the separation of migrant families through her Forbes column and other forums. In March 2020, CoreCivic sued Simon and the Candide Group for defamation, saying that the company did not participate in family separation nor certain lobbying activities. On 19 November 2020, a judge from the Northern District of California dismissed the lawsuit without leave to amend concluding that the alleged defamatory statements were permitted under the First Amendment and California defamation law. In April 2021, a California court ordered CoreCivic Inc. to reimburse Morgan Simon and Candide Group for the costs associated with their defense stating that the California anti-SLAPP law created a “substantive right” to attorney fees that didn’t conflict with the rules of federal procedure. Core Civic has appealed this decision, such that at the time of writing this is an active lawsuit.