Public Citizen, Inc. et al v. Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board et al

Filing 15

MOTION for Preliminary Injunction by Public Citizen, Inc., Morris Bart, Morris Bart L.L.C., William N Gee, III, William N. Gee, III, Ltd.. Motion Hearing set for 11/19/2008 10:00 AM before Judge Martin L.C. Feldman. (Attachments: # 1 Notice of Hearing, # 2 Memorandum in Support, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit Bart Declaration, # 5 Exhibit Berwager Declaration, # 6 Exhibit Gee Declaration, # 7 Exhibit Wolfman Declaration, # 8 Exhibit Beck Declaration, # 9 Exhibit Beck Declaration Exs. 01-10, # 10 Exhibit Beck Declaration Exs. 11-20, # 11 Exhibit Beck Declaration Exs. 21-33, # 12 Exhibit Beck Declaration Ex. 24, # 13 Exhibit Beck Declaration Ex. 25, # 14 Exhibit Beck Declaration Exs. 26-27)(Ciolino, Dane) (Additional attachment(s) added on 10/28/2008: # 15 Exhibit Beck Declaration) (caa, ).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA PUBLIC CITIZEN, INC., et al., | | | Civil Action No. 08-4451 Plaintiffs, | | v. | | LOUISIANA ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY | BOARD, et al.; | | Defendants. _______________________________________ | DECLARATION OF BRIAN WOLFMAN 1. My name is Brian Wolfman. I am the Director of Public Citizen Litigation Group

(PCLG), a division of Public Citizen. My business address is 1600 20th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 2. Public Citizen Litigation Group (PCLG) is a division of Public Citizen that

conducts litigation in state and federal courts. Since its founding in 1972, PCLG has litigated cases concerning consumer rights, health and safety regulation, access to the civil justice system, freedom of speech, and other topics. Public Citizen has consistently advocated for the right of consumers to receive commercial advertising and solicitations, and has litigated several of the leading cases on the subject, including Virginia State Bd. of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens

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Consumer Council, Inc., 425 U.S. 748 (1976); Edenfield v. Fane, 507 U.S. 761 (1993); and Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, 471 U.S. 626 (1985). 3. As an organization devoted to defending the rights of consumers, Public Citizen

has an interest in ensuring that its members are not restricted from receiving communications regarding the availability of legal services. Public Citizen is particularly interested in the availability of truthful legal advertising because speech in this context not only encourages beneficial competition in the marketplace for legal services, but can also educate consumers about their rights, inform them when they may have a legal claim, and enhance their access to the legal system. 4. Public Citizen has an interest in protecting its Louisiana members, who would be

deprived of information about their legal rights and available legal services under Louisiana's amended lawyer advertising rules. Public Citizen's members would be injured by Louisiana's rules because, as consumers of legal services, they would be prevented by the rules from receiving truthful, non-misleading advertising that they have an interest in receiving. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. DATED October 21, 2008. s/Brian Wolfman Brian Wolfman

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