Areas Of Practice
Public Interest Reporting
The Public Interest Reporting Program upholds transparency, media independence, and the free flow of information, through legal advice and defense for public interest reporting organizations.
Recognizing that a free press and public access to information are essential for holding power to account, the Program counters threats to independent journalism outlets and similar organizations that provide citizens with the facts they need to make informed decisions.
Our Work
We regularly receive requests from journalists and independent media organizations for legal assistance to help them react to threats from governments or powerful individuals in response to published reporting. Through our rapid, direct legal assistance, with co-counsel support from law firm partners across the globe, we provide these journalists with guidance, resources, and support to continue their reporting.
Our legal assistance includes:
- Defense in defamation and privacy cases
- Pre-publication review and assessment of legal risks from reporting
- Forming legal entities in the U.S. and filing for tax exempt status
- Advice on corporate structure and employment practices
- Other issues as needed.
Our clients include the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), A Culture of Safety (ACOS) Alliance, Transparency International, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, El Faro, Bellingcat, and Important Stories, as well as the ever-growing Lawyers for Reporters roster of more than 320 U.S.-based clients.
The Program’s attorneys provide clients with direct legal services and co-counsel with law firms on a pro bono basis, depending on the specific needs of each case.
U.S and Global
The Program’s work with public interest reporting clients falls into two main geographic areas:
- Lawyers for Reporters. This unique program, now in its sixth year, provides pro bono legal assistance to local and mission-driven journalism in the United States. Learn more about Lawyers for Reporters, its services, and clients here.
- International Journalism. Our team provides legal support to international nonprofits, investigative outlets, and journalism support networks, as well as regional and local publishers around the world. Services relate to both operations and reporting, including advice on incorporation and restructuring assistance for media in exile, and defense against defamation and other claims, and more. We also coordinate the provision of legal support through Reporters Shield, an independent nonprofit membership program that offers legal defense and other resources to public interest reporting organizations worldwide. Read more about our work with Reporters Shield below.
We’ve called on the Vance Center as a trusted counsellor many times over the last year, often at the last minute, and it always provided the help we sought, including law firms in Europe and the United States to protect and defend us and our partners from legal troubles and expense.
Drew Sullivan , Co-Executive Director, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project