HB Media Minute Episode 36: UK Anti-SLAPP Efforts

The Legal Landscape

Today, the head of our Haynes Boone Media and Entertainment Practice Group, Laura Prather, will interview Susan Coughtrie, Co-Founder of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, about the developments in implementing protections against SLAPP suits in the U.K. and how we got here. Laura is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who has litigated against SLAPPs in courts across the country and has advocated for and been instrumental in the passage of Anti-SLAPP laws throughout the U.S. recently returning from a stint as a Fulbright Scholar studying global freedom of expression issues. Susan serves as Director of the Foreign Policy Center and author of the report “Unsafe for Scrutiny: Examining the pressures faced by journalists uncovering financial crime and corruption around the World.” A former journalist, Susan has a strong background in human rights advocacy, and her report swayed public opinion by exposing how reporters face risks to their freedom and security, from vexatious lawsuits (SLAPPs) to violence for exposing wrongdoing. Susan was instrumental in establishing the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe and the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition and has helped to expose the devastating impact SLAPP suits can have on NGO’s, protestors, and others who speak truth to power.