ABA News

Fake news, mass shootings, politics top agenda at ABA communications law meeting in Austin

Leading communications law experts from across the nation will gather to discuss hot topics in Federal Communications Commission and regulatory matters at the 25th Annual Forum on Communications Law Conference, Feb. 6-8 in Austin, Texas.  Topics of discussion will include advertising and promotions, legislation, entertainment, ethics, libel and privacy, cross-border vetting, reporter’s privilege and social media.

Program highlights include:

 • “Twenty-Five Years Later: McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission,” – In 1995, the Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment rights of activist Margaret McIntyre, charged with a crime, to distribute anonymous political leaflets at a public meeting. Since then, a lot of important journalism – and a lot of really hateful speech – has rested on the same rights of anonymity that McIntyre won. This panel will discuss whether in today’s political environment, the court would decide her case the same way – and should it? Panelists include  James Dao, Op-ed editor, The New York Times;  David A. Goldberger, professor emeritus of Law Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University; Beth Littrell, senior staff attorney special litigation, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Ala.; Alissa Starzak, head of Public Policy Cloudflare, Inc., Washington, D.C.;  Stephen Vladeck, professor of law, University of Texas Austin.

• “Preparing for the Future, Celebrating the Past,”— This panel will discuss best practices in communications law and discuss future challenges in the industry. Moderating the panel is Lynn Carrillo, vice president of legal, NBCUniversal News Group, Miami. Panelists include Lauren Fisher, chief legal officer, Vox Media, Washington, D.C.;  Andy Mar, director & associate general counsel, Facebook, Menlo Park, Calif.; James A. McLaughlin, deputy general counsel & director of Government Affairs, The Washington Post; Carolyn Forrest, vice president of Legal Affairs,  Fox Television Stations, LLC, Atlanta; Randy Shapiro, Global Media counsel, Bloomberg, LP, New York;  Savalle Sims, general counsel, Discovery, Inc. New York.

• “Women in Communications Law” — The authors of “There’s No Crying in Newsrooms: What Women Have Learned about What It Takes to Lead,” Kristin Grady Gilger and Julia Wallace will share leadership stories of women who pushed through barriers at media organizations.

• “In Harm’s Aftermath: Covering the News in Violent Times” —This panel will examine the media’s role in covering tragedy and accessing public documents. Recent mass shootings in Texas and Florida will be discussed and the issue of the public’s right to know amid the states’ interest in prosecuting the offender and protecting the privacy of victims and their families. This panel will feature  Steve Perkins, husband of Glenda Ann Perkins, a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School who was killed in the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at the Texas school.  Panelists include Joe Moody, Texas State Representative; Shelby Webb, reporter, Houston Chronicle; Deanna Shullman of Florida law firm Shullman Fugate PLLC; and Andre Davis, retired Fourth Circuit judge, Baltimore City solicitor.

• “Breaking News! Fake News and Deep Fakes and Their Impact on American Democracy”— Panelists will tackle such questions as what technological developments are enabling a proliferation of fake news and deep fakes? Left unchecked, how will current technology impact the media? Do these developments have the potential to disrupt our democracy? And, are current legislative proposals attempting to address these developments a possible solution? Panelists include Michael Gottlieb, partner, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Washington, D.C.; Donie O’Sullivan, reporter, CNN New York; Ben Sheffner, senior vice president & associate general counsel, Copyright & Legal Affairs, Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., Los Angeles; Charlyn Stanberry, chief of staff for Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY); Drew Shenkman, assistant general counsel, CNN Atlanta.

ABA House meets Feb. 17 with access to justice efforts, voting rights topping the agenda

The American Bar Association House of Delegates meets later this month in Austin, Texas, with a full slate of resolutions, including a proposal to encourage state lawyer-licensing agencies to experiment with model rules to expand access to justice efforts.

The HOD, as the ABA policy-making body is known, meets Feb. 17 at the JW Marriott Austin on the final day of the 2020 ABA Midyear Meeting, which begins Feb. 13. The House consists of 596 delegates from state, local and specialty bar associations and meets twice a year at the ABA Midyear and Annual meetings.

The Feb. 17 agenda includes more than 30 proposals, including resolutions related to voting registration and accessibility, curbing gun violence and lessening the burden for bond after a conviction and before sentencing on criminal charges.

 Resolution 115, proposed by the ABA Center for Innovation and supported by four standing committees of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, calls for state regulators and bar associations to continue to explore regulatory innovations that have the potential to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of civil legal services. At least six states have proposed — or adopted — substantial regulatory changes that could loosen rules and more are considering doing the same.

 The resolution does not point to any single effort as a panacea. Rather, it urges similar entities to continue these efforts with the goal of providing more affordable legal services while maintaining protections for clients. The resolution also encourages state licensing bodies and others to collect and assess data regarding regulatory changes and recommends that the ABA should assess these results in shaping future changes to ABA model rules and policies.

 Proponents of these changes say that they will lead to more accessibility, affordability and quality of civil legal services for all Americans. Opponents fear that some of the changes would allow nonlawyers to take advantage of vulnerable populations needing legal representation.

 Of the three voter-related measures, Resolution 108 urges governmental bodies to enact legislation that would allow eligible youth between 16 and 18 to preregister to vote and urges governments to automatically add preregistered teens to the voter rolls when they reach the legal voting age. Other voting proposals — Resolution 112 and Resolution 114  — ask governments to remove voting barriers for Native Americans and Alaska Natives and change residency requirements to make it easier for the homeless to vote.

 The gun safety resolutions seek to ban “ghost guns,” which are firearms made by individuals, without serial numbers or other identifying markings (107A); toughen gun permitting laws (107B); and raise awareness and regulations for safe storage of firearms (107C).

 Other noteworthy proposals include:

 • Resolution 110, which urges governments to provide courts with discretion to allow defendants to remain on bond pending sentencing following a guilty plea or conviction if the court finds that the defendant is not likely to flee or pose a danger.

• Resolution 103D, which seeks to address conflicting cannabis laws related to the financial industry. It specifically asks Congress to enact legislation to clarify and ensure that it shall not constitute a federal crime for banking and financial institutions to provide services to businesses and individuals, including attorneys, who receive compensation from the sale of state-legalized cannabis or who provide services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses.

• Resolution 200, which are requests from the California Lawyers Association and the North Carolina Bar Association, both voluntary bar groups, for primary state bar association designation and acquisition of additional delegate seats in the House from other bars in that state.