About Me
I have been legal counsel to ASNE since 1996, first working with my predecessor, Richard M. Schmidt, and then becoming primary legal counsel in 2004. Since then, I have switched law firms, now practicing at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C., an Arlington, Virginia firm specializing in communications law and regulation.
My expertise is in First Amendment, Copyright and Trademark issues, especially those relating to newspaper and Internet publishing. I regularly advocates issues involving freedom of speech on behalf of ASNE and assisting newspapers and television and radio stations in prepublication review of stories for possible legal problems.
I also counsel our firm's broadcast clients on a wide variety of intellectual property matters. In addition to filing applications for federal and state copyright and trademark registrations, I advise clients on the steps which can be taken to avoid copyright and trademark infringement liability. Specific to broadcast stations, this includes compliance with the statutory license applicable to webcasting, as well as undertaking negotiations with the major performing rights organizations which license use of musical works. I have successfully litigated, as a plaintiff and defendant, claims arising out of the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbering’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.
I am currently licensed to practice in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. In addition to practicing law, I am an adjunct professor at George Mason University, where I teach Journalism Law in the Communications Department. I am a member of the First Amendment Advisory Council of the nonprofit organization The Media Institute, the Board of Directors of the District of Columbia's Public Access Television Corporation, and was Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Media Law Resource Center from 2004-2008. On March 16, 2006, I was inducted into the National Freedom of Information Hall of Fame.