Media Law and First Amendment, Defamation and Privacy Litigation

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View of city hall, PhiladelphiaWe have represented a variety of clients in cases involving claims of defamation and other reputational torts. For example, we defended a Philadelphia weekly newspaper in a lawsuit involving invasion of privacy and bad light claims and a major law firm against allegations that it had libeled a litigation opponent in a press release. We also won summary judgment for the City of Philadelphia and its Mayor in a lawsuit brought by a former high-level City official, who alleged that he had been fired in violation of his First Amendment rights and then slandered by the Mayor's administration.  Recently, 

we won summary judgment dismissing defamation claims brought by the former lawyer to the Major League Baseball umpires' union in connection with the mass umpire resignation of 1999.

We help our media clients avoid litigation by reviewing articles for possibleJohn Stapleton, Associate, Litigation legal issues before they are published and by advising on laws that impact the media's work, including the Pennsylvania Reporter's Shield law and the federal Communications Decency Act. We also assist non-media entities facing First Amendment issues. In one such case, two well-known lawyers demanded access to the records of the state bar association's independent commission that evaluated the qualifications of candidates for statewide judicial office. On behalf of the bar association, we persuaded the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to take "extraordinary" jurisdiction of the case. The Court ruled in our client's favor, making new law by holding that the confidential deliberations and interviews of the non-governmental commission were privileged against discovery.