Renowned Attorney Johnnie Cochran Defends Victim of Vendetta
by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Washington, D.C. --- Lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.'s firm joined the legal
team of a freelance writer who was the target of an extensive retaliatory
undercover operation financed by the legendary Feld Entertainment family --
the owners of America's beloved Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,
Disney Shows on Ice, and Siegfried and Roy. Mr. Cochran made his
first appearance in the case, Pottker v. Feld, in D.C. Superior Court on
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 9:45 a.m. Mr. Cochran and lawyers in his
D.C. and New York offices joined Roger Simmons and Adam Oppenheim
of the law firm of Gordon & Simmons in representing Ms. Pottker.

The case, reported on CBS's "60 Minutes," is remarkable for acts
of deceit, spying, and trickery designed to stop freelance writer -- Jan
Pottker - from publishing a book about the circus and the Feld family. In
1990, now defunct Regardie's magazine published an article written by Ms.
Pottker that included some unflattering facts about the inner workings of
the Feld family and its operation of the "Greatest Show on Earth." Much to
her surprise, in 1998, Ms. Pottker discovered that entertainment mogul, Ken
Feld, had hired Clair George, a former CIA covert operations director who
was involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, to oversee a clandestine campaign
to derail Pottker's plans to write the book. For almost eight years,
Pottker and her family members were subjected to undercover surveillance.
A confidence man, hired by Clair George, pretended to be Pottker's
business partner and induced her to entrust her ideas and manuscripts to
him. She later found out that he was working for Ken Feld in an effort to
undermine her career. Pottker filed her suit for damages against Ken Feld
and the Circus in 1999.

In the hearing before Superior Court Judge Cheryl Long on October 22, 2003,
Mr. Cochran argued that the Ken Feld's defense strategy had become
oppressive and harassing (Ms. Pottker's deposition was taken for over 20
days) and over 5 1/2 years after this case was filed the defendants continue to
delay and deny Ms. Pottker her day in court. "If powerful and wealthy
individuals and corporations are allowed to simply beat people into
submission by the sheer weight of their legal resources, then justice will
be denied," said Mr. Cochran. "It is important that we stand up against
this outrageous attack on a free press and that Ms. Pottker's right to a
trial on these very serious claims not be delayed or thwarted by these
defense tactics," Cochran added.

Mr. Cochran and Ms. Pottker are available for media interviews on
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22 in Washington, D.C.

Johnnie Cochran spoke with 9 news on October 22, 2003 about the case:
http://www.wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=23854