An article on the Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB) website commends Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Laura Prather for her efforts to preserve Free Speech protections.
Here is an excerpt:
With just a handful of days left in the 2019 Texas legislative session, TAB is on the verge of scoring some big wins for local TV and Radio stations on multiple fronts.
The victories are poised to come down on both sides of the ledger – offense and defense – in ways that will directly benefit stations’ bottom lines and their mission to inform, protect and entertain the communities they’re licensed to serve.
Free Speech Win
TAB led the successful fight to protect our hard-won Anti-SLAPP law adopted in 2011 as the legal community demonstrated that various provisions of the measure were being invoked in cases where the law was never intended to apply and was clogging court dockets throughout the state. Other interests were hoping to gut the law entirely and return Texas to the days when wealthy individuals and powerful companies could sue their critics into silence, even absent any defamatory statements.
The resulting rewrite of the law preserves the core Free Speech protections of the original law while addressing the legal community’s concerns. It was the result of protracted negotiations, a marathon public hearing and the engagement of scores of different parties.
Laura Prather with Haynes and Boone marshalled a broad range of interested parties into the Protect Free Speech Coalition and helped lead the negotiations with two other First Amendment attorneys.
To read the full article, click here.