AUSTIN – The Coalition for Free Speech and Haynes and Boone, LLP, will host a symposium and reception June 23, 2016, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of passage of Texas’ anti-SLAPP statute.
Paul Brown, former Capital Tonight Anchor, will moderate a lively discussion with lawmakers, public interest groups from both sides of the aisle, SLAPP victims and others about what the statute has meant for the state of Texas. Panelists are state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi; Jane Bland, justice for the First Court of Appeals; Bama Brown, iHeart Radio DJ; Terri Burke, ACLU of Texas executive director; and attorney Laura Prather, partner at Haynes and Boone and board member of the FOI Coalition of Texas.
SLAPP refers to Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. The statute makes it more difficult to wage a lawsuit that’s intended to block someone’s free speech rights.
The event, co-sponsored by the FOI Foundation of Texas, will begin at 4 p.m. with registration, followed by the panel discussion from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. A reception takes place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will be held at the Austin American-Statesman, 305 S. Congress Ave. in Austin. To RSVP click here or contact Velma Bueno at 214-651-5746 or [email protected].
