**Springfield, VA (October 17, 2007)** – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation announced today that it has hired Derek A. Poteet, a member of the Virginia State Bar since 1997 and graduate of the Washington & Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia.

“Derek A. Poteet brings to National Right to Work a real commitment to helping employees fight back against the abuses of compulsory unionism,” said Ray LaJeunesse, vice president and legal director of the National Right to Work Foundation.

As the newest of the Foundation’s eleven staff attorneys, Poteet will help build on the Foundation’s successful litigation record for union-abused workers that includes 13 cases at the United States Supreme Court. In the most recent case, National Right to Work staff attorneys represented 4,000 teachers in the case of Davenport v. WEA, in which the High Court unanimously agreed unions have “no constitutional right” to spend forced dues for politics.

A United States Marine Corps Reservist, Poteet was recently promoted to Major. He was called for active duty in 2005 and served in Iraq through 2006. While abroad, he conducted compliance inspections of U.S. and Iraqi detention facilities throughout Al Anbar province. Currently, he continues to serve as a Judge Advocate for the Marines.

Poteet brings superior discovery and litigation skills to the Foundation’s expert legal staff. As a law clerk for a federal judge, he helped to interpret and apply federal and state laws to specific cases. In serving with the Marines, he has also provided legal assistance to service members and their families.

Before joining the Foundation, Poteet served as an associate attorney at a private law firm, where he defended property rights and advised business clients on employment law. He is experienced in civil and criminal litigation in state and federal courts, and won reinstatement and full back pay for a state employee who was unjustly terminated.

Poteet also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia where he double majored in political and social thought as well as foreign affairs.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.