David A. Schulz
Floyd Abrams Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law
David A. Schulz is a Floyd Abrams Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School. Currently, he is Senior Counsel for the Media Practice Group at Ballard Spahr, LLP, a national trial and appellate practice representing news and entertainment media in defamation, privacy, newsgathering, access, intellectual property and related First Amendment matters.
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Contact Information
- Room 432A
- (203) 436-5827
- david.schulz@yale.edu
Faculty Assistant
Ann-Marie Cooper
- 333
- 203-432-4830
- ann-marie.cooper@yale.edu
Education & Curriculum Vitae
J.D., Yale Law School, 1978
M.A., Yale University, 1976
B.A., Knox College, 1974
Courses Taught
- Media Freedom and Information Access Practicum
- The Law of Newsgathering
David A. Schulz is a Floyd Abrams Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School. Currently, he is a Senior Counsel for the Media Practice Group at Ballard Spahr, LLP, a national trial and appellate practice representing news and entertainment media in defamation, privacy, newsgathering, access, intellectual property and related First Amendment matters. He specializes in media law, First Amendment, and intellectual property, and has represented a broad range of media clients, including international newswire services, national and local newspapers, television networks and station owners, magazine and book publishers, cable news networks, and Internet content providers. He also lectures at Columbia Law School and regularly writes and speaks on media law issues. He is a graduate of Knox College, Yale University, and Yale Law School.
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
To Fight Defamation Suit, Fox News Cites Election Conspiracy Theories
The Washington Post
Floyd Abrams Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law David Schulz ’78 comments on the Fox News defense strategy in a high-profile lawsuit over the network promoting conspiracy theories about voting machines in the 2020 presidential election.
Friday, November 18, 2022
MFIA Clinic Honored for Advancing Government Transparency and Accountability
The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) received awards for its work from two organizations promoting transparency and accountability.
Friday, August 26, 2022
Are Defamation Lawsuits an Effective Tool Against the Onslaught of Misinformation?
NPR / Here and Now
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law David A. Schulz ’78 discusses how to combat misinformation.
Friday, August 26, 2022
Law Clinics Win Battle Over 2016 FOIA Amendment's Meaning
Law360
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law David A. Schulz ’78 discusses a case brought by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic in which a court ruled that the FDA cannot withhold commercial information from the public soley because a company considers it confidential.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Court Sides with Clinics on Freedom of Information Act Exemptions
A court agreed with the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic that the FDA cannot withhold information about a drug’s approval solely because the drugmaker considers it confidential. An exemption to the law is not meant to protect confidentiality for the sake of confidentiality, the court ruled.
Thursday, March 31, 2022
MFIA Secures the Right of Journalists in Texas to Use Drones
In a win for the Media Freedom & Information Access clinic, a federal court in Austin struck said a law restricting the use of drones to capture images violated the First Amendment rights of journalists.
Thursday, February 3, 2022
Alexander Vindman’s Lawsuit Is Right on the Law
Just Security
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law David A. Schulz ’78 contributed to an essay about a lawsuit filed against former President Donald Trump.
Friday, October 29, 2021
Puerto Rico Media Petitions Supreme Court in Abuse Case
Associated Press
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law David Schulz '78 and Clinical Lecturer in Law and Associate Research Scholar in Law Stephen Stich '17 comment on a petition filed to overturn a ruling by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court cutting off all public access to judicial proceedings involving domestic violence.
Monday, June 7, 2021
MFIA Clinic Receives $200,000 Contribution from Craig Newmark Philanthropies
For the second year, the Media Freedom & Information Access (MFIA) Clinic at Yale Law School has received a $200,000 contribution from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to advance the clinic’s core mission.
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
PEN America Lauds Settlement in Press Freedom Lawsuit
Voice of America
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David A. Schulz ’78 is quoted in a Voice of America article about a settlement where the plaintiff was represented in part by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic.
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Dominion and Smartmatic have serious shot at victory in election disinformation suits, experts say
CNBC
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David Schulz ’78 is quoted in an article about the Dominion and Smartmatic defamation suits against a variety of conservative personalities.
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Federal Judge Allows MFIA Lawsuit Challenging Texas Drone Law to Proceed
A federal judge in Texas denied the state's request to dismiss a case brought by the Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic at Yale Law School and Public Justice defending the newsgathering rights of photojournalists.
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Yale Law School helps win suit against CIA, lifting censorship of book on terrorism
New Haven Register
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David Schulz ’78 and David Froomkin ’20 are quoted in a Hearst Newspapers article about a former FBI agent whose book was redacted after the CIA took issue with his eyewitness account of its interrogation of Guantanamo detainee Abu Zubaydah. The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic assisted a filmmaker and a journalist in their efforts to gain access to the redacted information.
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
MFIA Clinic Receives $200,000 Contribution from Craig Newmark Philanthropies
A grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies will help advance the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic’s core mission of defending the rights of journalists and promoting transparency.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Judge Permits MFIA Clinic First Amendment Case to Proceed
A federal judge in New York has ordered a First Amendment lawsuit filed by Yale’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) against President Donald Trump to proceed into discovery.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
MFIA Clinic Launches Local News Initiative
The Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic at Yale Law School has announced a new program, the Local News Initiative.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
John Solomon claims the First Amendment protects him as a journalist
Washington Post
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law David Schulz ’78 is quoted in the Washington Post about the media’s First Amendment rights.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Gag order in Jennifer Dulos case could set CT precedent
New Haven Register
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David A. Schulz is quoted in the New Haven Register about the potential effects of gag orders in Connecticut.
Friday, April 12, 2019
The debate over what Julian Assange’s arrest means for freedom of the press, explained
Vox
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer David A. Schulz is quoted in an article about whether Julian Assange is a journalist.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
MFIA and CRIT Fight for Transparency to Protect Public Health and Safety
On March 25, 2019, the Yale Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency (CRIT) and leading nonprofit consumer advocacy groups Public Citizen and the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a joint amicus brief at the Supreme Court with the assistance of students and supervising attorneys in Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA).
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Alex Jones defamation cases reach deep into free speech debate
Danbury News Times
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David Schulz ’78 is quoted about the defamation case filed by Sandy Hook families against media personality Alex Jones.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Literary group sues Trump, alleges free speech stifling
The Associated Press
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law David Schulz ’78 is quoted by the Associated Press about a lawsuit filed by PEN America with the assistance of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Trump’s targeting of a New York Times journalist, explained by experts
Vox
David Schulz ’78, Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and director of the MFIA clinic, and Michael Meltsner ’60 contributed to an article about the federal government’s seizure of a reporter’s phone records as part of a federal investigation into leaks of classified information.
Monday, March 5, 2018
First Amendment Cannot Shield Exxon from Climate Probe, New York AG Argues
Climate Liability News
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David Schulz '78 is quoted in a story about efforts by Exxon to use the First Amendment as a shield against fraud probes by New York and Massachusetts.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Conference on Government Transparency to Be Held October 27
“Access and Accountability: A Conference for Transparency Advocates” will convene at Yale Law School on Friday, October 27, 2017.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
MBTA agrees to make arrests public
The Boston Globe
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David Schulz is quoted, and the MFIA clinic mentioned, in an article about access to information regarding those taken into custody by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Lethal injection details sought; Media, state at odds over what public should know
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David Schulz ’78 and Clinical Lecturer in Law John Langford ’14 are mentioned in an article about efforts by media outlets to obtain information about lethal injection drugs used in Arizona.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
MFIA Clinic, ACLU Sue LAPD Over Access to Public Documents
The ACLU Foundation of Southern California and Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed a lawsuit on April 25, 2017 against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) alleging flagrant violations of the California Public Records Act (CPRA).
Thursday, March 16, 2017
President Trump vs. The Press
Legal Talk Network/ Lawyer to Lawyer
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law and co-director of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic David Schulz ’78 took part in a discussion about Donald Trump and the media.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
MFIA Clinic Convenes Panel To Discuss Conflicts of Interest In New Administration
On January 10, 2017, approximately 40 journalists and media lawyers attended a free-form discussion with legal experts on the federal conflict of interest laws and the incoming Trump Administration
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Charlotte Observer sues governor’s office over access to public records
The Daily Tarheel
Floyd Abrams Clinical Lecturer in Law David Schulz ’78 is quoted in an article about a lawsuit launched by the Charlotte Observer against North Carolina governor Pat McCrory regarding a request for public records.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
MFIA Clinic and Abrams Institute File Amicus Brief in Ag-Gag Case
The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed an amicus brief challenging an Idaho law that makes it a crime to record slaughterhouses, feed lots, and other agricultural production facilities unless the owner explicitly consents.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Kohler-Hausmann and MFIA Clinic Win Appeal
Professor Issa Kohler-Hausmann ’08, with amicus support from the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, successfully appealed a New York State court ruling prohibiting a record requestor from suing an agency for unreasonable delay when filing a Freedom of Information Request in the state.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Transparency, Surveillance, and the Future of First Amendment Law
In a post-Snowden era, while legal scholars and advocates re-examine government transparency and secrecy, the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School is working to protect the First Amendment rights of citizens and news media across the country.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Top First Amendment Lawyer to Head MFIA Clinic
David A. Schulz ’78, a leading First Amendment lawyer who has defended the rights of journalists and news organizations for more than 30 years, has been named Clinical Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) at Yale Law School.