Senior Newsroom Attorney, Lawyers for Reporters

NYC Bar Association • New York, NY

53d • $140,000 - $150,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Established in 2004, the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice advances global justice by engaging lawyers across borders to support civil society and an ethically active legal profession. The Vance Center is a unique collaboration of in-house and private practice lawyers catalyzing public interest innovation to advance human rights and access to justice, protect the natural environment, promote the rule of law and institutional integrity, and support public interest reporting. A non-profit program of the New York City Bar Association, we bring together leading law firms and other partners worldwide to pioneer domestic and international justice initiatives and provide pro bono legal representation to social justice NGOs. In 2025, the Vance Center represented 150 clients in 255 matters, collaborating as co-counsel with more than 500 lawyers from 109 law firms across 76 countries.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Vance Center launched Lawyers for Reporters in March 2020 to provide pro bono legal representation to independent local and subject-specific news outlets, public interest reporting organizations, and journalism support organizations in the United States. Since its launch, it has represented more than 395 clients in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Lawyers for Reporters’ clients include independent publishers that distribute public interest and local news in such formats as print, websites, radio, documentary film, video and social media, as well as investigative, advocacy, and academic publishers of public interest content. Lawyers for Reporters was established to ensure that no public interest reporting organization needing legal support will fail to obtain it because of financial constraints.

Our in-house team has the privilege of working with exceptional practitioners from across the country dedicating pro bono service to support a cornerstone of our democracy – the independent press. Using the Vance Center’s unique model, our in-house lawyers work both independently and when indicated, with our network of pro bono private practitioners to provide advice and representation news publishers need at every stage of their life cycles. The scope of our representation is broad, covering corporate, transactional, employment, and taxation, as well as newsroom services such as pre-publication review of articles, newsgathering advice, help responding to retraction demands and litigation threats, subpoena defense, support for freedom of information and access rights, copyright licensing and defense, trademark, and more. We help clients apply for tax-exempt charitable status and establish subscriber/membership programs. In the current hostile environment in which the press operates, we offer compliance checkups, safety and know-your-rights resources, and training and capacity building.

Lawyers for Reporters is establishing a program to support clients undertaking significant investigative projects (the “LFR Investigations Program”). The Program will assign a lawyer and editor, both highly experienced in supporting complex journalistic investigations. This team, supported by LFR’s other lawyers, will provide the client with regular advice as needed throughout the investigation. The support will include planning, scoping, and organizing the investigation, considering and working with sources, seeking access to public records through requests, appeals, and litigation if needed, drafting and editing, seeking comment from subjects, and conducting pre-publication review. Clients wishing to participate in the program will pitch their projects to LFR, which will determine whether the Program’s resources are available and adequate for the project.

Requirements

• J.D. degree from an accredited U.S. law school, with additional education or specialization in media law and/or journalism a plus.
• Admission to practice law in any state.
• Minimum 8 years of experience counseling newsrooms that conduct and publish investigations pertaining to matters of public concern, including advising on laws related to newsgathering, source protection, cybersecurity, access to public records and meetings and to judicial proceedings, libel and invasion of privacy.
• The ability to work effectively with editors and other attorneys on a variety of newsroom-related matters and manage multiple short and long-term matters simultaneously.
• A commitment to promoting a free and robust independent press.
• Authorization to work in the United States.
• Ability to develop and/or work with professional networks and/or other forms of collaboration.

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of Spanish
• Experience with pro bono practice and general knowledge of the U.S. legal market.

Responsibilities

• Assess selected clients’ legal needs and provide them with legal advice and representation in the areas of newsgathering and source assessment and protection.
• Help assess applications for the LFR Investigations Program.
• Collaborate with an experienced editor working on the project with the client.
• Conduct prepublication review of requests for comment and of news stories.
• Communicate as needed with law firms regarding pro bono services, and co-counseling clients along with pro bono private practitioners.

Benefits

• We provide a competitive benefits package, including generous paid time off (vacation, personal, sick time, holidays including closing between Christmas and New Year’s day, day off for volunteer work, extra time off in summer), choice of medical plans, dental, vision, 401K, life insurance, commuter benefits program, Employee Assistance Program, short-term/long-term disability insurance, free New York City Bar Association membership and CLE programs, and employee discounts, among others.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree