Joe Slaughter's practice focuses on content-related disputes, including defending the rights of the news media, TV and film producers and distributors, advertising agencies, and other content creators in state and federal courts across the country. He regularly represents media and entertainment clients in matters involving defamation, privacy, right of publicity, and First Amendment issues; copyright, trademark, and trade secret claims; FOIA/FOIL and related access matters; and general commercial disputes. He also provides counseling on pre-publication review and other production-related legal issues.
In addition to his media and entertainment practice, Joe maintains an active commercial litigation practice, and has substantial experience in a wide variety of substantive areas of law, including general commercial litigation, white collar disputes and investigations, labor and employment matters, antitrust, securities litigation, and litigation arising from bankruptcy.
Experience
Selected Media and Entertainment Matters
- Obtained dismissal of defamation claims brought against by a former New Orleans high school principal after the New Orleans Times-Picayune identified him in attendance at a rally protesting the removal of confederate monuments
- Obtained dismissal of copyright claims against Netflix, Amazon, and Apple stemming from the use of music in a documentary film
- Defense of the Southern Poverty Law Center against defamation and related claims brought by well-known right wing media personality and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes
Selected Other Matters
- Represented several multi-billion dollar hedge funds in responding to SEC and CFTC investigations
- Represented a national restaurant chain in obtaining dismissal of a multi-million dollar class action alleging claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law
- Represented creditors in litigation arising from several major bankruptcies, including In re SunEdison, In re Energy Futures Holdings, and In re TOUSA.
- Represented a major credit card network in a multidistrict antitrust litigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice
Professional Highlights
Pro Bono Experience
Joe has an active pro bono practice providing advice and counseling to BIPOC-lead media outlets, as well as representing artists and journalists in transactional matters. He has also represented incarcerated individuals in civil rights litigation and civil rights activists in asylum proceedings.
Judicial Clerkship
Hon. Ketanji Brown Jackson, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, June 2013 – August 2014
Speaking Engagements
Presenter, “U.S. Media Law 101”, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism of the City University of New York, August 2019
Presenter, “NFL Protests: Public v. Private Actors,” First Amendment Watch, February 2019
Moderator, “Arguendo: Barnes v. Glen Theatre," Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, April 2014
Board Memberships & Community Service
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
Broadway Presbyterian Church Nursery School, Board President
Publications
Co-author, "'The Happiest Courtroom on Earth': Disney & Friends Take on DeSantis," MLRC MediaLawLetter, September 2023
“Trump’s Efforts to Suppress Speech Run Deeper Than You Thought,” The Daily Journal, August 2020
“Court Tosses Confederate Statute Supporter’s Claim for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, April 2020
Credentials
Education
Yale Law School (J.D. 2010)
Yale University (B.A. 2005)
Yale University (B.A. 2005)
Admissions
New York
District of Columbia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia