Timothy Tai is an associate in Ballard Spahr’s Litigation Department, focusing on media and entertainment law. He previously worked as the First Amendment Fellow at The New York Times Company. There, he litigated defamation, open records, and unsealing matters; defended reporters against subpoenas; and provided counsel on newsgathering and First Amendment issues.
During law school, Tim was a member of the Yale Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, where he advised documentary filmmakers on legal risks, worked on court access and Freedom of Information Act litigation, and argued on behalf of media groups before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He also served as a research assistant for the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Defamation and Privacy and the sixth edition of Newsgathering and the Law.
Tim was a staff photographer for The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Columbia Daily Tribune before beginning his legal career.
Professional Highlights
Judicial Clerkships
Credentials
Education
Yale Law School (J.D. 2024)
Student Director, Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic
Managing Editor, Yale Journal of Law & Technology
Charles G. Albom Prize for excellence in appellate advocacy
Joseph A. Chubb Competition Prize for excellence in legal draftsmanship
Winning Team, First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition, ABA Forum on Communications Law, 2023
University of Missouri (B.J., summa cum laude, 2016)
John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award, National Press Club, 2016
First Amendment Defender Award, Radio Television Digital News Association 2016
Admissions
Pennsylvania
New York
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit