Press Release

Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Laura Lee Prather participated in a panel discussion on June 8 at the American Bar Association’s 2018 Paris Sessions.

The ABA event commemorated the 70th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and featured discussions on a range of topics, including legal issues related to cybersecurity, climate change, and cross-border investigations.

Prather joined a panel discussion titled: “Balancing Privacy and the Right to Know in Open Societies.” The panel, which included media lawyers in the U.S. and Europe, addressed how jurisdictions take differing approaches to balancing transparency and privacy rights. One example cited is the rise of European claims arising out of the Right to Be Forgotten, which provides claimants with a cause of action to compel information to be removed from the Internet. The concept is antithetical to U.S. law, which allows people the right to publish whatever they find in public records. The panel also will discuss the cultural underpinnings of various countries’ approaches to free speech, as well as recent governmental reactions to data privacy issues and breaches.

As head of Haynes and Boone’s Media Law Practice Group, Prather focuses on First Amendment, Anti-SLAPP, intellectual property and media and entertainment litigation and appeals. She is board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and advises an extensive array of content providers including online and traditional publishers, newspapers, magazines, radio and broadcasters, cable television stations, production companies and music and sports entities.

Prather was instrumental in the passage of the Texas Citizens’ Participation Act, the state’s Anti-SLAPP law, and has played a key role in other First Amendment legislation in Texas, including the Texas Free Flow of Information Act (Texas’ reporter’s privilege) and the Defamation Mitigation Act (Texas’ retraction statute).