Our First Amendment lawyers provide clients with strategic counsel in all matters of core and commercial speech no matter the publication platform. We represent content creators, publishers, and those targeted or injured by false or deceptive communications in a variety of contexts.
Litigation & Consultation
Clark Hill’s First Amendment lawyers have decades of experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in litigation over published statements and content involving claims for defamation, privacy and publicity rights, advertising, trade libel and infringement, commercial torts, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. We have been engaged in numerous high-profile defamation cases, including extensive appellate work, and our practitioners have even been retained to testify as experts on First Amendment issues.
Representative reported appeals include:
- Chicago Style Productions v. Chicago Sun-Times, 313 Ill. App. 3d 45 (1st Dist. 2000) (copyright, jurisdiction)
- Brennan v. Kadner, 351 Ill. App. 3d 963 (1st Dist. 2004) (defamation, false light)
- Imperial Design v. Cosmo’s Designer Direct, 227 Ill.2d 381 (2008) (advertising)
- Knafel v. Chicago Sun-Times, 413 F.3d 637 (7th Cir. 2005) (defamation)
- Kapotas v. BGA, 2015 IL App (1st) 140534 (defamation, false light, tortious interference)
- Goodman v. Goodman, 2023 IL App (2d) 220086 (IIED, invasion of privacy, surveillance)
- Kornick v. Goodman, 2023 IL App (2d) 220197 (IIED, texting)
- Otto v. Chicago Public Media, 2023 WL 5202903 (1st Dist. 2023) (group libel)
Content Management
Why not have a lawyer screen the important press release before it gets published to evaluate its potential for liability risk? Whether for a national news publisher, a blogger, or someone responsible for overseeing communications in a private company, Clark Hill’s First Amendment lawyers have the experience to provide effective prepublication review (PPR) of various content and media, with rapid turnaround time to meet a publication deadline. Our media lawyers also provide counsel after publication including issuing retraction demands and takedown notices.
Access to Information
Our First Amendment and media lawyers have vast experience with enforcing the constitutional right of public access to public records and public proceedings. We understand and offer strategic counsel regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applicability and exemptions, including representing clients in related administrative review, and our First Amendment lawyers often file petitions to unseal court records and open hearings. We are also frequently engaged for opposing subpoenas to protect sources or intellectual property.
