From protecting corporate speech to preserving cameras in the courtroom, our lawyers represent journalists, publishers, media companies, and other entities in mass media and First Amendment disputes. Our success in the protection of expression, which has included some of the highest-profile cases in the nation, is grounded in the firm’s approach to litigation: We win by painstakingly gathering the facts and telling a compelling story that persuades judges and juries to find in favor of our clients.
Our successful track record of representing clients claiming injury from the content of speech extends to all types of speech, notably corporate speech. We represent individuals, groups, and companies as plaintiffs or defendants to protect rights when they collide with First Amendment principles. We have acted in the defense of print and digital news media, and also represented plaintiffs in matters involving the dissemination of proprietary information.
We represent clients when parties (including media entities) use free speech or newsgathering privileges to defend or assert a claim. We also defend companies against attacks that use First Amendment principles to inflict harm on their brands and reputations. When hedge fund manager Bill Ackman spearheaded a takedown of Herbalife and tried to reduce its stock price by making injurious claims under the guise of the First Amendment, we defended Herbalife and the attempted exploitation of First Amendment principles for financial gain.
Our libel and First Amendment work for major media clients makes us an important resource for press and media companies in high-profile content disputes, like when we helped defend CBS against the FCC fine it faced for the Super Bowl halftime show involving the performers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. We also represented the documentary filmmaker Michael Moore when the federal government investigated his travel to Cuba; represented Viacom when filmmaker Spike Lee obtained a preliminary injunction that would have halted Viacom's launch of Spike TV, its new television network; and represented Court TV in litigation against New York State seeking to establish a constitutional right to televise trials.