Bloomberg Law Reports on Brewer Advocacy, Retention of NYU Law Professor

June 4, 2024 – Bloomberg Law reported today on the Brewer firm’s representation of the NRA against the New York Attorney General. The article notes that the NRA has added New York University law professor Samuel Estreicher to its legal team.

As reported, The NRA has asked a judge to throw out a recent jury verdict, ordering former chief executive Wayne LaPierre and another official to repay more than $6 million to the organization. The court will consider whether to also require independent monitoring in a second phase of the trial that’s set to start July 15.

Estreicher is working closely on this motion to set aside the verdict, according to William A. Brewer III, the NRA’s lead outside attorney. Estreicher joins a legal team led by Brewer and other lawyers from his New York litigation boutique, Brewer Attorneys & Counselors. Partners Svetlana M. Eisenberg, Sarah B. Rogers, and Noah Peters have also worked on the case.

“He appreciates that the NYAG is pursuing many novel legal theories in support of the jury’s verdict, and that the NYAG’s pursuit of the NRA raises grave constitutional questions under the First Amendment,” Brewer said in a statement. “In particular, we have worked closely with Professor Estreicher on the pending motion to set aside the verdict.”

Read more here.

Law360 Names Brewer Firm "Legal Lions of the Week"

June 1, 2024 — Law360 has named Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors one of its "Legal Lions of the Week" after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled for Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) in its First Amendment case against a former New York state regulator.

The recognition noted that the NRA is represented by The NRA is represented by William Brewer III, Sarah Rogers and Noah Peters of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors.

Law360 writes that, “In a unanimous decision, the high court said Thursday that the NRA sufficiently showed that former New York Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo likely breached the group's First Amendment protections through the collective actions the NRA accused her of taking against banks and insurance agencies affiliated with it.”

Read more here.

National Media Report on Brewer Client NRA Scoring Landmark Supreme Court Victory

May 30, 2024 – Major media outlets are reporting on the unanimous Supreme Court decision finding in favor of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in a First Amendment case in which Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors represented the NRA.

The New York Times reports that Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the decision finding that the NRA plausibly claimed a violation of the First Amendment, which now sends the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.

The Hill also reports that the NRA can move forward in its “free speech fight” against Maria Vullo, the former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), over her encouragement of insurers and banks she regulated to cut ties with the NRA. The Hill reports that the NRA maintains those actions were unconstitutional government coercion.

USA Today reports that the NRA will get another chance to “punish” New York regulators who discouraged insurers and bankers from doing business with the NRA. The article noted that Justice Sotomayor wrote in her decision that, "Ultimately, the critical takeaway is that the First Amendment prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech, directly or, as alleged here, through private intermediaries.”

CNN reports that the decision will provide clarity to both liberal and conservative regulators about how far they may go in pressuring companies that do business with certain advocacy groups.

“This is a landmark victory for the NRA and all who care about our First Amendment freedom,” William A. Brewer III, counsel to the NRA, said in a statement quoted by CNN. “The opinion confirms what the NRA has known all along: New York government officials abused the power of their office to silence a political enemy.”

Washington Examiner Reports on Brewer Client NRA’s Legal Victory Against ATF

April 2, 2024 – The Washington Examiner reported on Brewer client NRA and its recent legal victory over the ATF. A Texas court recently enjoined the “pistol brace rule” from taking effect against NRA members. The legal win is the most expansive ruling of its kind to date – protecting millions of NRA members across the nation.

As reported in the article, “Big Win for NRA in Battle with Biden’s ATF,” “The decision followed other court rulings protecting the 3.7 million members of three other gun groups from the ATF action that abruptly changed the definition of rifles to include the AR pistols, among the most popular firearms in the country. Under the new rules, they will be taxed and registered.”

“The NRA will continue to play offense against this unconstitutional rule,” says NRA interim EVP and CEO Andrew Arulanandam. “This is yet another example of the NRA fighting for its members — and protecting the constitutional freedoms in which they believe.”

New Republic Reports that NRA Appears to “Notch Another Victory” at Supreme Court

March 19, 2024 –New Republic Staff Writer Matt Ford writes that Supreme Court justices appear ready to side with the NRA in its First Amendment case against former New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo.

He writes in the article following the Supreme Court arguments in the matter that, "By the end of the arguments, it was clear that whatever uncertain winds were swirling at the outset had shifted decidedly in the NRA’s favor.”

Ford writes that it is “hardly surprising” that the NRA would interpret Vullo’s actions as “unconstitutional threats,” noting that he previously wrote describing former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign against the NRA as being blunt and heavy-handed, and Cuomo’s messaging about the NRA as “particularly venomous.” Ford predicted that the former governor’s “overheated rhetoric and ham-fisted tactics will backfire when the court hands down a ruling by the end of June.”

The Brewer firm has represented the NRA on this matter since its inception, advocating alongside First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh and the ACLU. 

New York Sun Reports on Supreme Court Argument

March 14, 2024 – The New York Sun reports on an upcoming Supreme Court argument in the NRA v. Vullo matter. According to the Sun, an “epic First Amendment clash” surrounds the legal case – filed in 2018 by the NRA against former New York state financial regulator Maria T. Vullo.

According to the article, “The NRA – noting the immense power of New York financial regulators to oversee licensing, impose fines, and launch investigations – contends that the superintendent of the state’s Department of Financial Services, Maria Vullo – under the direction of Governor Cuomo – abused that power by encouraging insurers and banks to blacklist the NRA because of their distaste with the group’s Second Amendment advocacy.”

“If the NRA prevails, it will be positioned to pursue damages against Governor Cuomo, Maria Vullo, NYAG Letitia James, and the State of New York. The message will be loud and clear: the First Amendment belongs to the people, and public officials cannot wield government power to censor, suppress, or bankrupt their political enemies,” NRA’s counsel, William A. Brewer III, tells the Sun.

The case is important to any advocacy organizations that rely on First Amendment protections, he added.

See the report here: The Sun

Law360 reports on NRA First Amendment Case Before the Supreme Court

February 21, 2024 – Law360 reports that former New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Maria T. Vullo filed a respondent brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in connection with the case National Rifle Association of America (NRA) v. Vullo, which will be heard in March. The NRA is represented in the case by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh.

In a 2018 complaint against Vullo, the NRA said guidance memos Vullo issued to banks and insurers recommending that New York financial institutions evaluate the reputational risks arising from their dealings with the NRA amounted to an “overt viewpoint-based discrimination campaign.” In her brief to the Supreme Court, Vullo rejected the NRA's position that the statements were a "veiled threat."

NRA counsel William A. Brewer III told Law360 in a statement that the "respondents understate the NRA's allegations."

"It is not just that Vullo 'spoke out about matters of public concern,' but that she intentionally engineered a blacklisting campaign against the NRA at the direction of then Governor Cuomo because of its public advocacy," Brewer said. "The claim that the NRA's arguments should be rejected because they might 'encourage damage suits' against public officials is a red herring — an unpersuasive excuse to avoid scrutiny of the actions in question."

The NRA is also represented by Noah Peters and Sarah B. Rogers of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors.

Law 360 Reports on NRA Trial, Closing Arguments

February 15, 2024 -  Law360 reported on the conclusion of a six-week trial concerning the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ (NYAG) case against the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) in New York. 

The NYAG filed suit against the NRA, former CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, former CFO Wilson Phillips, General Counsel John Frazer, and former Chief of Staff Joshua Powell in August 2020, alleging defendants misspent millions of dollars and that the NRA and executives steered vendor contracts to insiders. The Brewer firm represents the NRA in the case. 

The report noted that the NRA said its board was a victim of improper spending by executives and that the Association instituted compliance reforms once that alleged misconduct came to light.

"The essence of fraud is that it's a lie. The victim doesn't know about it," Brewer Partner Sarah Rogers told the jury. "What the NRA did when it discovered the fraud was, it dug in. ... The NRA left no stone unturned."

Rogers added that the NYAG sued the NRA because she "despised" the group, and that she tried "to impose the death penalty on it and take all its money" – through a corporate dissolution claim that was dismissed in March 2022.  

Read more here.