Haynes and Boone, LLP proudly congratulates Partner Laura Lee Prather and First Court of Appeals Justice Jane Bland for receiving the Franklin Jones Best CLE Article Award from the Texas Bar College.
Their article, “Bullies Beware: Safeguarding Constitutional Rights through Anti-SLAPP in Texas” is the foremost authority of cases involving the 5-year-old Texas Citizens Participation Act and has already been cited frequently by appellate courts throughout the state.
The award is named in honor of Franklin Jones, Jr., a co-founding father of the college, and is given to only one article each year.
At the firm, Prather is a member of the Litigation Practice Group in the Austin office. She focuses her practice on First Amendment, intellectual property, media and entertainment litigation and appeals. Prather has significant government relations experience as an advocate at the Texas Legislature on First Amendment and open government concerns.
She advises an extensive array of content providers including online and traditional newspapers, magazines, radio and broadcasters, cable television stations, production companies and music and sports entities. Prather was the lead negotiator for the three most significant pieces of First Amendment legislation in recent history in Texas – the reporters’ privilege, the anti-SLAPP statute, and the Defamation Mitigation Act. Through her efforts, Prather both formed and led the coalitions in support of all three of these measures. All three laws are designed to promote and protect free speech rights in Texas.
The award was presented at the Texas State Bar Appellate Law Section meeting Sept. 8.
Read the article here.