Today, we are covering an important topic: the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on governmental transparency, including open-records requests and public access to governmental meetings. As we’ll discuss, the pandemic has been sort of a mixed bag, posing roadblocks to open government but also opening pathways to access public records, meetings and judicial proceedings.
Joining us today is Partner Tom Williams, who has decades of experience handling cases and counseling clients on First Amendment issues, libel, invasion of privacy, open government and many other topics. Apropos of today’s discussion, he recently wrote an article titled “Dichotomy in Transparency as a Result of COVID-19" for the 2020 - 2021 edition of the Haynes Boone Media and Entertainment Law Year in Review.