Tulane Law Clinics
First Amendment Clinic
The First Amendment Clinic is dedicated to defending freedom of speech and press through direct client representation. Our clients are politically engaged citizens from all walks of life and all political viewpoints. They live across Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. We also represent members of the press seeking public documents and access to government meetings, to support government accountability and transparency. We train future lawyers in the skills necessary to represent real clients, handle challenging cases, and become the civic leaders of tomorrow.
Client Matters
Our Clinic students have hands-on opportunities to litigate important constitutional questions that have real-world impact.
Request Help
We represent people in Louisiana and regionally in First Amendment cases. If you have a First Amendment question or concern, contact us.
Our Alumni
Our student attorneys care deeply about our cases. They work hard and deliver incredible results for our clients.
With your help, we're standing up to government abuse of power and censorship.
Please give your gift to our Law Clinic, so we may continue to train our students and help our communities.
Meet the First Amendment Law Clinic
Team of Experienced Lawyers
Katie Schwartzmann
Director, First Amendment Law Clinic
A civil rights attorney with a dense catalog of courtroom work, Schwartzmann has two decades of experience litigating constitutional questions in Louisiana's state and federal courthouses. She has litigated and supervised dozens of cases challenging impingements on freedoms of speech, the press, religion, civil rights, and assembly.
Virginia Hamrick
Stanton Legal Fellow, First Amendment Law Clinic
Virginia Hamrick is the Stanton Legal Fellow in the First Amendment Law Clinic, where she assists with the Clinic’s litigation to defend freedom of speech in federal, state, and city courts across Louisiana. Before joining the First Amendment Clinic, she was the staff attorney at the Florida First Amendment Foundation where she analyzed legislation affecting the state’s open meetings and public records laws, drafted amicus briefs on the public’s access to government meetings, and trained journalists on how to utilize the public records law.
Melia Cerrato
Sunshine Fellow, First Amendment Clinic
Melia Cerrato is the Sunshine Fellow, funded through the generous support of the Legal Clinic Fund for Local News. Melia provides legal representation to journalists and citizens around the state in matters of accessing government records and open meetings. Before joining the First Amendment Clinic, she was a private practitioner that represented families of children with disabilities throughout Louisiana. She represented families in expulsion hearings, at IEP meetings, and in suits against school districts.
