The Local Journalism Project,
a special initiative within Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic, enables students and recent graduates to gain real-world experience in media law as they provide pro bono legal counsel to local journalists and media outlets involved in lawsuits and other matters. During its first four years, over 70 students have worked in the Local Journalism Project, representing over 80 clients and handling over 220 legal matters.
“Part of our success is how many alumni continue working with the Local Journalism Project post-law school. Their enthusiasm inspired a program where alumni and their firms co-counsel on this critical work”
– heather e . murray , managing attorney , local journalism project
Our Victories
The Local Journalism Project has scored big wins for its news outlet and journalist clients, translating into big wins for communities in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and around the country:
Defending Against Attempts to Suppress News
Coverage: Fought off a libel lawsuit against the Geneva Believer by a construction company seeking to silence coverage of the company’s cozy relationship with the local city council.
Fighting for Access to Court Proceedings: Won access for The Batavian to a proceeding in Family Court concerning a judge who was up for election, upholding the principle that all courts are presumptively open to public scrutiny.
Obtaining Critical Public Records: Helped Documented gain access to records that fueled the creation of its groundbreaking Wage Theft Monitor, which tracked New York businesses found guilty of wage theft and spurred legislative action aimed at combating wage theft in New York.
Aiding Newsgathering and Coverage: Conducted legal review for Streetsblog of its series on New York City’s black market for temporary license plates, leading to meaningful auto safety reform and a coveted Polk Award for our client.
Students in the Local Journalism Project have represented over 80 clients during its first four years.
Our Clients
Maritza Felix, founder and publisher of Conecta Arizona: “Cornell’s Local Journalism Project has been my legal partner every step of the way in figuring out how to run this news-youcan-use service for Spanish-speaking residents of Arizona.”
Journalist Janon Fisher: “As a freelance journalist I was seeking what I knew were documents of public interest. Cornell’s Local Journalism Project not only shared my outrage at the government’s secrecy, it devised and pursued a tenacious legal strategy to make those documents public.”
Anne Gallaway, former publisher and editor in chief of VT Digger: “I have been pursuing a story involving the largest public fraud scandal in Vermont’s history. I couldn’t have had a better legal partner by my side throughout this journalistic mission to get the truth out to the public.”
Cornell’s Local Journalism Project has handled over 220 legal matters in the past four years.
Yoav Gonen at The City: “I rely on Freedom of Information Law requests as an essential part of my investigative journalism. The Local Journalism Project has given teeth to requests that the government would otherwise ignore.”
Our Students
Maria Kearns-Galeano ’23: “The Local Journalism Project changed the trajectory of my career. As I prepared to argue in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in a public records case, I realized that I wanted to become a litigator.”
Over 70 students have worked in the Local Journalism Project over the past four years.
Connor Flannery ’23: “The highlight of my time with the Clinic was conducting oral argument in two New York courts, on behalf of our freelance journalist client, advocating for more transparency in the judicial appointment process in New York City. That experience has given me more confidence in my ability to advocate for future clients.”
“It is not too much to say that ‘local journalism strengthens democracy’ and getting Cornell Law students to appreciate that fact and giving them an opportunity to make a real impact on the field is both rewarding and meaningful.”
mark h jackson , director of cornell law school ’ s first amendment clinic