Alia L. Smith's practice focuses on working with media organizations, entertainment companies, public interest groups, and others engaged in public advocacy and speech.
Alia regularly defends clients in state and federal courts in connection with defamation, privacy, and other claims targeting their speech. She represents publishers in their efforts to obtain access to records (including under the Freedom of Information Act) and to resist subpoenas for their newsgathering materials. And she provides counseling and pre-publication advice on risk management, copyright concerns, and other issues to numerous publications of all sizes, from national newspapers to regional broadcasters, to start-up websites, to freelancers. In addition, Alia speaks frequently on media law topics to lawyers, journalists, and students.
Prior to joining the firm, Alia was with the highly regarded First Amendment boutique law firm Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, which merged with Ballard Spahr in October 2017.
Experience
Representative Matters
- Successfully defended The American Prospect against a defamation claim over its reporting on workplace issues at a prominent Washington think tank. Mason v. Am. Prospect, Inc., 2024 WL 4345855 (D.D.C. Sept. 30, 2024)
- Obtained, on behalf The Brennan Center and Data for Black Lives, more than 160,000 records from the D.C. Police, which shed light on how the police keep tabs on citizens, including those engaged in lawful protest activity, through the monitoring of social media accounts.
- Represents Newsday in FOIL litigation brought against the Nassau County (NY) police department for release of police disciplinary records. New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, held that records related to unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct were not categorically exempt from disclosure. Newsday LLC v. Nassau County Police Dep’t, 222 A.D.3d 85 (2d Dep’t 2023).
Professional Highlights
Judicial Clerkship
Professional Activities
ABA Forum on Communications Law
ABA Women in Communications Law Committee
District of Columbia Bar Association, Media Law Committee
New York City Bar Association, Communications and Media Law Committee, past Secretary
Recognition & Accomplishments
Speaking Engagements
Presenter, "Legal Insights for Virginia Journalists," Virginia Press Association, November 21, 2024
Update on Section 50-a Repeal, New York State Bar Association, Committee on Media Law, September 21, 2023
"Hot Topics in Media Law," Media Fest '22, October 27, 2022
Publications
Co-author, "Court Dismisses Libel Claim by Former Nonprofit Leader Accused of Bad-Boss Behavior," Media Law Resource Center, October 2024
"Court Orders D.C. Police to Produce Thousands of Records About Monitoring Citizens’ Social Media Accounts," Media Law Resource Center, July 2024
"D.C. Court Affirms Anti-SLAPP Dismissal, and Attorneys' Fees, in Case About Newsroom Manager's Workplace Conduct," Media Law Resource Center, March 2024
Related Insights
Credentials
Education
Senior Projects Editor, The George Washington Law Review
Order of the Coif
Moot Court Board
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A. Journalism 1996)
Admissions
New York
District of Columbia
Virginia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York