E113 | “So Many First Amendment Violations, So Little Time” | Tom Leatherbury

Many lawyers go to law school thinking that they want to litigate weighty Constitutional questions. But those cases don’t often arise in regular practice. One area that does implicate the Constitution is First Amendment law, which winds through so many aspects of civil practice. Few people know that better than Tom Leatherbury, the founder and director of SMU’s First Amendment Clinic. Tom joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss his background in appellate law and his particular knowledge and expertise in First Amendment law. He also shares details about SMU’s clinic—how it started and what they do to help litigants and train a new generation of attorneys interested in these important principles. 0:00 - Intro 4:22 - Career-Changing First Amendment Cases & the TCPA 9:02 - How the SMU First Amendment Clinic Got Started 14:08 - How the Clinic Finds and Takes On Cases 18:59 - Role of the Clinic's Fellows 23:19 - The Three "Buckets" of First Amendment Cases 28:06 - Teaching Students to Sit With Uncomfortable Topics 32:57 - Balancing the Clinic With Practice at V&E 37:34 - The McDonald v. Sorrels State Bar Case 42:08 - Outcome and Ongoing Oversight of the State Bar Case -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Texas Appellate Law Podcast Episode 113 Original Air Date: March 9, 2023 The views expressed by the participants of this podcast are their own, and not those of their law firms, courts, or employers. Nothing you hear on this show establishes an attorney-client relationship, or is legal advice. texapplawpod.com