Tulane Law Clinics

First Amendment Clinic

Shield Divider png

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.

 

Clinic-interview

Client Matters

Our Clinic students have hands-on opportunities to litigate important constitutional questions that have real-world impact.

I have no idea what this means

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.

 

Shield Divider png

Meet the First Amendment Law Clinic

Team of Experienced Lawyers 

Schwartzmann

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

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 is the Sunshine Fellow for the First Amendment Clinic at Tulane University Law School

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.

Find Your Clinic