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Washington Legal Foundation Overview and Request for General Operating Support
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WASHINGTON LEGAL FOUNDATION
Overview and Request for General Operating Support
1705 N Street, Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 857-0240
February, 1988
CONFIDENTIAL:
MINNESOTA TOBACCO LITIGATION
TIMN 315371

WASHINGTON LEGAL FOUNDATION
GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
REQUEST: The Washington Legal Foundation
requests The Tobacco Institute to
provide $5,000, or portion thereof,
for general operating support of
WLF's 1988 litigation and legal
policy activities.
I. INTRODUCTION
The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) is a national,
non-profit, public interest law and policy center located
in Washington, D.C. Established in 1977, WLF is dedi-
cated to preserving our free market economy, promoting a
strong national defense, and a limited and accountable
government. WLF promotes this philosophy through prece-
dent setting litigation and through timely publication of
original research.
WLF not only provides a forum for talented legal
scholars to be heard and included in the policy process,
but it also provides an outlet for legal authorities to
counter the one-sided views of over 155 anti-business
coalitions.
WLF attorneys daily confer with federal and state
legislators and judges, White House and Administration
officials, CEOs and their corporate counsel, legal
scholars, and the media on critical legal issues.
II. LITIGATION
Over the past ten years, WLF has been involved in
excess of 100 litigation,. suits and 150 rulemaking
proceedings. WLF has also represented nearly 235 Members
of Congress and Administration officials in landmark
Supreme Court cases as well as worked with over 25 state
Attorneys General in courtrooms across the country. But
numbers alone do not tell the real story -- results do.
In 1987, WLF won several Supreme Court cases as well
as provided insightful comments on important business-
related rulemaking proceedings.
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CONFIDENTIAL:
MINNESOTA TOBACCO LITIGATION

In one case, Tull v. United States, the U.S.
Supreme Court handed WLF a major victory by agreeing
that under the Seventh Amendment, businessmen are
entitled to a jury trial whenever the government seeks
civil penalties for violations of federal laws and
regulations.
In a related case, WLF recently filed a brief with
the Illinois Supreme Court and is awaiting a decision in
the case People of the State of Illinois v. Chicago
Magnet Wire Corporation. Local prosecutors charged five
corporate officials with aggravated battery, reckless
conduct, and conspiracy under Illinois criminal laws for
alleged injuries to employees resulting from chemicals in
the workplace. WLF argued that regulations promulgated
under OSHA preempted the Illinois criminal laws, and that
there were no federal or state charges that the OSHA
standards violated.
With regard to rulemaking proceedings, WLF regularly
provides federal agencies with a pro-free enterprise
point of view on a vride range of issues.
For instance, WLF opposed making the private sector
responsible for controlling the immigration of aliens.
Also, WLF opposed investment restrictions on banks and
filed comments urging the FDA to lift its ban on food
labels containing health-related information. Further-
more, WLF continually fights unnecessary and burdensome
regulatory procedures, many of which are promulgated by
OSHA and the EPA.
WLF's participation in the federal administrative
process is heightened by membership in the Administrative
Conference of the United States. This governmental body
is composed of the heads of each federal government
agency and a select group of federal judges, private
sector attorneys and law professors.
In addition, WLF is the only public interest legal
group on the Executive Committee of the Products Lia-
bility Alliance (TPLA). WLF also works closely with the
Coalition for Uniform Products Liability Laws (CUPLL).
III. LEGAL STUDIES DIVISION
Realizing the need for "intellectual legal
lobbying," WLF established the Legal Studies Division in
1986. Legal Studies is dedicated to expanding the pro-
free enterprise legal idea base by conducting,original
research and writing. It also provides a diverse array
of publications for Corporate CEOs and their general
counsel, state and federal judges, Members of Congress,
Administration officials, academia, and the media.
TIMN 315373
CONFIDENTIAL:
MINNESOTA TOBACCO LITIGATION

WLF's Legal Studies Division prints and circulates a
wide variety of publications aimed at the very people who
shape legal policy. These publications vary in style
from concise bi-weekly Legal Backgrounders (1-8 pages in
length), to in-depth monthly Working Papers (30-50 pages
in length), to law review length monographs. Topics
covered in WLF publications generally cover law and
economic issues with a corporate/business regulation
orientation.
Legal Studies greatest success has been its ability
to attract well-respected authors to its program. Warren
Anderson, former Chairman of Union Carbide, wrote a WLF
Legal Backgrounder on the lessons his company learned as
a result of the Bhopal tragedy. Former Citicorp Chairman
Walter Wriston wrote a piece on banking deregulation.
And Interior Secretary Donald Hodel wrote a Backgrounde__r
on developing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska.
Legal Studies also possesses in-house authors
specializing in corporate, constitutional, and media
law. In addition, many authors are drawn from leading
law firms and from WLF's distinguished Academic Board of
Advisors.
Legal Studies publications are unique in that they
are timely and address critical legal issues that affect
our daily lives. Legal Studies publications have re-
sulted in new policies being developed and/or modified at
both the state and federal levels. In conjunction with
its publications, conferences are held and task forces
are formed in order to further discuss complex legal
policy questions.
IV. THE MEDIA
WLF continues to gain national recognition and
respect as demonstrated by the number of media
appearances made by WLF attorneys.
In 1987 alone, WLF attorneys appeared on over 350
television and radio interview programs. Such programs
included NBC's "Nightly News" and "Today" shows, CBS'-s
"Evening News," ABC's "Good Morning America," PBS's
"MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour," CNN's "Moneyline" and
"Crossfire," just to name a few.
In addition, WLF attorneys are regularly quoted in
The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street
Journal, Time and Newsweek magazines, and frequently
appear on the AP and UPI wire services.
TIMN 315374
CONFIDENTIAL:
MINNESOTA TOBACCO LITIGATION

I
V. FINANCE
The Washington Legal Foundation is a non=-,p-):nfa_t,
fully tax-exempt organization classified as a_t-`01{(:)3
public foundation under the Internal Revenue Code.
WLF receives support from over 120,000 ir.n}.-r 1{1ua7.s
and over 350 corporations and foundations. Seventy-.t.ven
percent of all dollars raised directly fund the
of WLF 's public interest activities. The rema 7.r(.':.x is
allocated to administrative, communicatians, ;~ ir1d
development support. WLF does not reta in func, r: ,-) i sl.:Zg
(~~. ti~ :,ycr)
consultants and does not accept government
grants or court awarded fees.
Because WLF does not accept government supy,ox i, it
counts solely on the generosity of corporat:i uns,
foundations, and individuals for its operating ruP~-nue.
Without this support, WLF cannot realistically expt-.,.t to
meet the legal challenges that face American busJne<~s.
Therefore, WLF would 1 ike to request a 1988 rjcr(_ta1
operating grant of 5 000, or portion thereof, 1---i The
Tobacco Institute. Gifts of stock, real estate, '(-.n(ls
and endowment bequests are also appreciated.
VI. YOUR SUPPORT IS VITAL
Right now, anti-business forces are signi.fij c:,intly
larger and better funded that those promoting 1_°rce
enterprise system. Activist groups have cczt~e to
understand how to use the court to promote their xlt:rrow
special interests -- and their success at manipti,..;tt.; ng
the court to rule against business is ever increasing.
In an age when courts and attorneys znfl.z=-=nce
almost every aspect of corporate and private life, it
becomes even more important for you to invest in '.he
Washington Legal Foundation.
WLF is a dynamic, aggressive, future-oriented ltygal
policy center. Your support will guarantee that a pro-
free enterprise voice is heard throughout America, 1)oth
in the courts and in the policy-making arena. As
intellectual lobbyists, WLF will bring a balance to i;he
debate of legal policy before the Congress, the coTi?~ts,
the Administration, and the public.
TIMN 315375
CONFIDENTIAL:
MINNESOTA TOBACCO LITIGATION
