First Amendment students standing with Gregg Leslie in the Beus Center for Law and Society staircase.

First Amendment Clinic

Get the legal assistance you need

The First Amendment Clinic at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University was established to protect and defend First Amendment interests and to teach a new generation of lawyers how to help individuals stand up for their First Amendment rights. Our students interact with journalists and others to address the roadblocks keeping them from doing meaningful reporting.

Funded by an almost $1 million gift from the Stanton Foundation, a private organization established by longtime CBS president Frank Stanton, the clinic benefits both the community and the students who want to immerse themselves in promoting and defending First Amendment and press rights.

Who can benefit from the services of the First Amendment Clinic?

Speech affects everyone in some capacity, so anyone can benefit from our services. We help those seeking legal assistance navigate complex issues regarding freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion. Defending the First Amendment does not mean we take on causes we want to promote; instead, we will help any time any government body or official tries to control or limit personal expression. This is how the First Amendment should work; everyone is allowed to think and speak as they wish to ensure that all voices can be heard in a democratic society with an informed electorate.

Request a free consultation

Clinic Director

Gregg Leslie, Executive Director and Professor of Practice, has practiced media and First Amendment law since 1994. He came to the ASU College of Law to start the First Amendment Clinic in 2018 and previously served as legal defense director and staff attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping journalists with legal issues. Gregg Leslie serves on the governing committee of the Communications Law Forum of the American Bar Association and was a member of the ABA's Fair Trial and Free Press Task Force in 2011. He also served as chairman of the D.C. Bar’s Media Law Committee and its Arts, Entertainment, Media & Sports Law Section.

Faculty Advisor

James Weinstein, Faculty Advisor, is the Dan Cracchiolo Chair in Constitutional Law at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, a faculty fellow in the Center for Law, Science and Innovation at Arizona State University and an associate fellow with the Centre for Public Law at the University of Cambridge. His areas of academic interest are Constitutional Law--especially Free Speech, Jurisprudence, and Legal History. He has written articles on a variety of free speech topics, including free speech theory, obscenity doctrine, commercial speech, campaign finance reform, hate crimes, and campus speech codes.

David J. Bodney, Senior Counsel. at Ballard Spahr LLP, is a litigator who focuses on media and constitutional law and is the founder of Ballard Spahr's media law practice. For over 40 years, he has defended print, broadcast, and electronic media in defamation, privacy, and related First Amendment law cases. In addition, he has significant experience litigating complex commercial disputes, handling matters involving intellectual property, Native American law, and governmental affairs issues. His practice includes actions to secure open government, block prior restraints and subpoenas of reporters by government and third parties, and handling commercial speech, intellectual property law, and voting rights issues.

Kathy Brody, an attorney at Mitchell Stein Carey Chapman, is the former Legal Director of the ACLU of Arizona. She handles all types of criminal, regulatory, and administrative matters. Her practice focuses on defense in government investigations and handling complex matters where criminal law issues intersect with constitutional rights, civil liability, politics, and public relations. She has extensive expertise in legal ethics and professional responsibility and has served on the Arizona State Bar Ethics Committee and as the editorial board co-chair for the most recent edition of the Arizona Legal Ethics Handbook.

Paul Eckstein, a partner at Perkins Coie LLP, focuses on civil litigation (including appellate matters) involving commercial, legal malpractice, constitutional, Indian law, and political law issues. He also frequently serves as a mediator and arbitrator and teaches Constitutional Law.

Jon Riches, the Director of National Litigation & General Counsel at the Goldwater Institute, litigates in federal and state trial and appellate courts in the areas of economic liberty, taxpayer rights, public union, and pension reform, government transparency, free speech, and school choice, among others. He has developed and authored several pieces of legislation. He has previously served on active duty in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps, clerked for Sen. Jon Kyl on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and clerked in the Office of Counsel to the President.

Jude Joffe-Block
Phoenix Freelance Writer

"ASU's First Amendment law clinic has helped me gain access to public records I would not have received otherwise. Meaningful accountability journalism requires access to legal counsel. This is a challenging moment for journalism, but one of the bright spots in the Arizona media landscape has been the creation of this invaluable clinic."

David Morgan
Independent Reporter

"ASU Law School's First Amendment Clinic has been a tremendous resource for my tiny local news operation, helping me to understand and use the law to expose severe problems and shortcomings in our local police-judicial-political systems."

David Bralow
Senior Vice President, Law First Look

"ASU’s First Amendment Clinic’s work was exemplary and its results in unsealing judicial records contributed significantly to the public’s understanding of the operations of U.S. Customs and Board Protection. The Intercept is a thankful beneficiary of this clinic’s important work."