December 19, 2024 at the National Press Club in Washington DC
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Breakfast 8:30 am
Moderator: Theresa Amato
Principal, Amato PLLC; Director of the Freedom of Information Clearinghouse and staff attorney, Public Citizen Litigation Group, 1991-1993. Founder, Citizen Advocacy Center.
Ralph Nader
9:00 am TOPIC: The Importance of the Freedom of Information Act
How it can and should be used, and how to improve the Act.
Consumer Advocate, Founder of the Center for Study of Responsive Law, and many other citizen organizations, including the Freedom of Information Clearing House.
Mr. Nader played a pivotal role in the passage of the 1974 Freedom of Information Amendments
Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) [Pending confirmation]
9:30 am TOPIC: What Congress can do to improve the Freedom of Information Act
Sponsor of legislation to require that all U.S. government agencies comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests relating to private prisons, jails or detention facilities, including immigration detention facilities. This legislation, the Private Prison Information Act (PPIA)
Thomas Susman
10:00 am TOPIC: An inside look at the legislative fight to pass the 1974 Freedom of Information Amendments
ABA Strategic Advisor—Global Programs & Governmental Affairs
Alan B. Morrison
10:30 am TOPIC: The Early Years of Freedom of Information Act Litigation
Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest & Public Service at GW Law
Anne Weismann
11:00 am TOPIC: Challenging the Obstacles to Freedom of Information Act Litigation
Anne Weismann is an Adjunct Professor, George Washington University Law School and currently acts as outside litigation counsel for nonprofit organizations and individuals seeking to bring greater accountability to the federal government. Previously she served as Chief Counsel and Chief FOIA Counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit organization committed to identifying, analyzing, and deterring unethical government conduct.
Roberta Baskin
11:30 am TOPIC: Using the Freedom of Information Act in Investigative Journalism
Roberta Baskin has spent more than 30 years as an awarding-winning investigative reporter at CBS, PBS and ABC News with a mission to expose corporate misconduct. Roberta’s storied career has earned her more than 75 journalism awards, including duPont Columbia Awards, Peabody Awards, and multiple Emmys. As a result of her investigations, corporate operations improved for dozens of health and safety products and practices.
Allison Kole and Zehava Robbins
12:00 pm TOPIC: Using the Freedom of Information Act at the State and Local Level
Allison Kole serves as General Counsel at Energy and Policy Institute.
Kole assists clients with public records request strategy, negotiations, and appeals, and has successfully litigated cases in federal court challenging unlawful withholdings by federal agencies. Before joining the Energy and Policy Institute, Allison was on the litigation team for the landmark constitutional climate case Juliana v. United States, was a legal researcher for Climate Investigations Center, and spent a year as a litigation fellow with Earthjustice in Washington, D.C.
Zehava Robbins
Zehava Robbins serves as the Senior Counsel at Energy and Policy Institute She works with investigative journalists and researchers to fight for transparency and accountability under the federal Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws, filing administrative appeals and lawsuits where necessary to obtain responsive records. Before joining the Energy and Policy Institute, Robbins worked as an Assistant District Attorney for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in their Conviction Integrity Unit and then their Civil Litigation Unit, where she handled requests and appeals under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. After graduating from Stanford Law School, Zehava also clerked for Justice Frank Gaziano of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Ralph Nader
12:30 pm TOPIC: Concluding Remarks
No Q&A after conclusion
Speaker Bios:
Ralph Nader:
Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer, and author. Throughout his career, he founded many organizations including the Center for Study of Responsive Law, the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), the Center for Auto Safety, Public Citizen, Clean Water Action Project, the Disability Rights Center, the Pension Rights.
Mr. Nader played a key role in advancing the 1974 FOIA amendments. In 1969, he wrote that the FOIA was being “undercut by a riptide of bureaucratic ingenuity,” and that “The FOIA will remain putty in the hands of government personnel unless its provisions are given authoritative and concrete interpretation by the courts.” These criticisms became the basis for key aspects of the 1974 amendments, including the 20-day response deadline and the fee waiver, among others.
Nader went on to found the Freedom of Information Clearinghouse, which provided technical and legal assistance to individuals, public interest groups, and the media who sought access to information held by government agencies. The Clearinghouse also assisted in litigating a certain FOIA cases to protect the public’s right to access government information.
Theresa Amato:
Theresa Amato, principal of Amato PLLC, provides legal and consulting services to nonprofits and foundations, as well as political candidates, parties, and committees.
A graduate of Harvard College, with honors in government and economics, Amato attended NYU University School of Law as a Root-Tilden Scholar and clerked for The Honorable Robert W. Sweet in the Southern District of New York. In the early 1990’s, she litigated at Public Citizen Litigation Group and was the director of the Freedom of Information Clearinghouse in Washington, DC.
In 1993, Amato founded the Citizen Advocacy Center which for more than 30 years has used, enforced, and strengthened the Illinois FOIA as part of the Center’s mission to build democracy for the 21st century. Amato has also served as the executive director or general counsel of other nonprofits and foundations.
Amato guest lectures at a variety of colleges and law schools and from 2013-2015 she was an adjunct professor and distinguished scholar in residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and a member of the University’s Board of Regents.
From 2015-2022, she spent three years in the global disputes practice of Shearman and Sterling, LLP, and nearly five more in the executive group reporting directly to the Senior Partner.
Amato is the first woman in U.S. history to manage two high-profile presidential campaigns (Nader 2000/Nader 2004) outside of the two major parties, and is the author of several publications, including Grand Illusion, The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny.
Thomas Susman:
Thomas Susman is the American Bar Association’s Strategic Advisor for Governmental Affairs and Global Programs, after serving as Director of the Governmental Affairs Office for over a decade. Before that, he was a partner in the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP, where his work included counseling, litigation, and lobbying on access to government information and privacy. He has litigated FOIA cases against the CIA, State Department, and other agencies; testified on FOIA reform before the U.S. Congress; advised clients on information issues; and authored a number of works on information and privacy. He has advised on drafting and implementing open government information legislation abroad, co-authored a portfolio on business uses of the FOIA, and taught classes and courses on the FOIA.
After receiving his J.D. from the University of Texas Law School, Tom began his career in the U.S. Department of Justice. He then served as general counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and various subcommittees. In 1974 he was the principal Senate staff counsel involved in developing the 1974 FOIA Amendments.
Tom was inducted into the First Amendment Center’s Freedom of Information Hall of Fame and received the American Library Association’s “Champion of Public Access” award, among other honors. He is founding president of the D.C. Open Government Coalition, serves on the Board of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, is a member of the Advisory Committee of OpenTheGovernment, and served four terms on the National Archives FOIA Federal Advisory Committee.
Alan B. Morrison:
Alan B. Morrison is the Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest & Public Service and teaches civil procedure and constitutional law at GW Law.
For most of his career, Dean Morrison worked for the Public Citizen Litigation Group, which he co-founded with Ralph Nader in 1972 and directed for over 25 years. His work involved law reform litigation in various areas including: open government, opening up the legal profession, suing agencies that fail to comply with the law, enforcing principles of separation of powers, protecting the rights of consumers, and protecting unrepresented class members in class action settlements.
He has argued 20 cases in the Supreme Court, including victories in Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar (holding lawyers subject to the antitrust laws for using minimum fee schedules); Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (making commercial speech subject to the First Amendment); and INS v. Chadha (striking down over 200 federal laws containing the legislative veto as a violation of separation of powers).
Dean Morrison previously taught at Harvard, NYU, and Stanford law schools, among others. He is a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and was its president in 1999–2000.He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, served as a commissioned officer in the US Navy, and was an assistant U.S. attorney in New York.
Anne Weismann:
Anne Weismann currently acts as outside litigation counsel for non-profit organizations and individuals seeking to bring greater accountability to the federal government. Previously, she served as Chief Counsel and Chief FOIA Counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a non-profit organization committed to identifying, analyzing, and deterring unethical government conduct. On behalf of CREW, Ms. Weismann has handled a wide range of high-profile litigation from lawsuits seeking public access to White House visitor records and opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel to a lawsuit seeking to compel President Trump to comply with his recordkeeping obligations under the Presidential Records Act. She previously served as the Executive Director of Campaign for Accountability, a non-profit organization that uses research, litigation, and communication to hold those who act at the expense of the public accountable for their actions.
Before entering the non-profit arena, Ms. Weisman served as the Deputy Chief of the Enforcement Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission and as an Assistant Branch Director at the Department of Justice, where she oversaw the Department’s government information litigation.
Ms. Weismann has received numerous honors for her transparency work, including induction into the FOIA Hall of Fame, is a frequent lecturer on transparency and ethics issues, and has testified numerous times before Congress on transparency issues. She received her BA Magna Cum Laude from Brown University and her JD from George Washington Law School.
Roberta Baskin:
Roberta Baskin spent more than 30 years as an awarding-winning investigative reporter at CBS News, ABC News, & PBS exposing stories of injustices. Her storied career garnered more than 75 journalism awards, including three duPont Columbia Awards, two Peabody Awards, and multiple Emmys. Her investigations reformed injustices and improved dozens of health and safety products and practices. She now serves on five non-profit boards dedicated to climate justice and solutions to socio-economic divides.
Eight years ago Roberta shifted to the mission of finding companies and telling stories about exemplary businesses, companies helping to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. She co-founded and launched AIM2Flourish.com at Case Western Reserve University. It now showcases more than 4,500 Global Goals stories written by business school students in more than 100 countries. Roberta served as key fundraiser, strategist, and global education promoter. Real Leaders Magazine honored her among its “100 Visionary Leaders.”
Roberta now serves on nonprofit boards committed to climate and democracy solutions, as well as socioeconomic divides.
Allison Kole:
Allison Kole serves as general counsel to EPI. She also directs EPI’s FOIA Advocacy Project, which helps researchers who are facing obstacles to receiving public records from state and federal agencies. Before joining EPI, Allison was Counsel to Essential Information Inc. assisting researchers at Essential, watchdog organizations, advocates, and journalists in public records challenges and other media law issues. Allison has successfully brought FOIA lawsuits against agencies including the Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Allison also spent two years on the litigation team for the landmark constitutional climate case Juliana v. United States and was a fellow with Earthjustice in Washington, D.C. She graduated from George Washington University Law School with recognition for her service to the community through GW’s health rights clinic.
Zehava Robbins (from Energy and Policy Institute):
Zehava Robbins serves as counsel to EPI and is the lead attorney for EPI’s FOIA Advocacy Project. She works with investigative journalists and researchers to fight for transparency and accountability under the federal Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws, filing administrative appeals and lawsuits where necessary to obtain responsive records.
Before joining EPI, Zehava worked as Public Records Counsel at Essential Information Inc. and as an Assistant District Attorney for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in their Conviction Integrity Unit and then their Civil Litigation Unit, where she handled requests and appeals under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. After graduating from Stanford Law School, Zehava clerked for Justice Frank Gaziano of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.