On October 11, litigation partner Mark Cunningham was quoted in the Shreveport Times and other Gannet media in Louisiana in the article titled "Vioxx ads generate hundreds of calls to LA lawyers." The article discussed the large number of lawyer ads that began appearing in newspapers and on television after Merck voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the market earlier this month. Cunningham, who heads the Louisiana State Bar Association's Lawyer Advertising Advisory Service Committee, was quoted as saying in part, "Lawyer advertising, if done in an appropriate and tasteful way, is very positive for consumers. It advises them of the availability of lawyers and the options they have for lawyers."