The Free Expression Legal Network: protecting free speech, free press, and the free flow of information

The Free Expression Legal Network is a nationwide coalition of law school clinics, academics, and practitioners focused on promoting and protecting free speech, free press, and the free flow of information to an informed and engaged citizenry. Our members work on media law, transparency, and/or access issues, either as their primary focus or as it intersects with their work on other issues.

The network allows members to better share resources and expertise, while collaborating on projects to defend the constitutional rights of free speech and a free press. 

FELN members have handled a diverse array of cases in recent years. For example, members represented a nonprofit news organization seeking public records about officials’ actions surrounding a securities fraud scandal, advised filmmakers on a documentary about San Diego’s LGBTQ history, trained citizens on how to use government open records laws, and submitted an amicus brief in a case in which the court was preparing to sentence a government employee who disclosed classified information of significant public interest to a journalist.