New York Law Journal / Albany Times Union Report on Lawsuit Against Former NRA President Oliver North
May 21, 2025 — The New York Law Journal and Albany Times Union report that Brewer client Thomas King, president of the NRA Foundation, has filed a countersuit against former NRA Board President Oliver North. The suit "cites New York’s anti-SLAPP statute that protects New Yorkers from frivolous lawsuits meant to silence whistleblowers."
Filed in the state Supreme Court of Rensselaer County on May 19, 2025, King's lawsuit says he reported "allegations of serious ethics violations by North through the NRA's confidential internal disciplinary process," the Law Journal reports.
”Our client believes Col. North's action in Virginia is a clear abuse of our judicial process — a classic SLAPP lawsuit filed to punish Mr. King for exercising protected rights,” said Svetlana Eisenberg, partner at Brewer and counsel to King. “Thomas King's actions were entirely lawful, rooted in responsible governance and accountability. The lawsuit aims to demonstrate that attempts to suppress whistleblowers through retaliatory litigation violate New York law and threaten the essential principles of transparency and integrity within nonprofit organizations."
To read the Albany Times Union article, click here.
To read the New York Law Journal article, click here.
Brewer Comments on ACLU Joining Firm as Co-Counsel in First Amendment Supreme Court Case
December 11, 2023 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors joins the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) in welcoming the ACLU as co-counsel in the NRA’s First Amendment case against former New York State financial regulator Maria T. Vullo.
The Brewer firm has represented the NRA in this matter since its inception, and the United States Supreme Court accepted the case for review on November 3, 2023.
The case has become among the most closely watched First Amendment cases in the country.
As reported by The New York Times, “…when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the NRA’s free speech challenge to what it said were a New York official’s efforts to blacklist it, one of the lawyers had a bold idea. Why not ask the ACLU to represent it before justices?”
“The NRA might be thought of as the 800-pound gorilla on the Second Amendment…clearly, the ACLU is the 800-pound gorilla on the First Amendment,” firm partner Bill Brewer told the Times.
Brewer stated today, “We look forward to collaborating with the ACLU, Eugene Volokh, and others on this advocacy team. These lawyers and dozens of amici speak to the importance of the NRA’s case and sends a powerful message to New York State regulators: the NRA will always defend its right to free speech.”
Joining Brewer in representing the NRA are ACLU Legal Director David Cole, attorney Eugene Volokh, firm partner Sarah B. Rogers and firm counsel Noah B. Peters.