Christina Lee Joins Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic

Christina Lee, a legal fellow at the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, will join the Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic at Yale Law School on June 15. Lee brings experience in First Amendment litigation, media law, and clinical teaching, along with a longstanding interest in protecting the people who tell important stories.

Lee earned her J.D. from Cornell Law School in 2021. During law school, she became involved in First Amendment work, including participating in the Cornell Law First Amendment Clinic, where she helped represent a nonprofit organization in a professional speech matter. She also served as senior online editor of the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and received a CALI Award in a supervised writing seminar focused on comparative international free speech and internet law.

After graduating, Lee joined the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, where she worked on civil litigation and investigative matters. Although Lee valued her experience in private practice, she ultimately wanted to focus on First Amendment work. That goal led her to her current position as a fellow at the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic.

Working at the clinic has been particularly meaningful for Lee. The role allows her not only to engage directly in speech-related litigation but also to mentor students and help them develop their own legal skills. “I’ve been loving working in a clinical setting,” she said. “It’s been really eye-opening to see how many places the First Amendment touches people’s lives.”

One clinic case that stood out for her involves a local bookstore seeking to send books to individuals incarcerated in a county jail. When jail officials blocked the effort, the bookstore turned to the clinic for help. The clinic is now litigating the issue, arguing that sending books into correctional facilities is protected under the First Amendment. “Being able to support that local bookstore and defend the proposition that sending books is a protected form of speech has been really impactful,” Lee said. 

Lee has also worked with journalists through partnerships that provide prepublication legal reviews for reporters working outside large media organizations. These projects help independent journalists and smaller publications navigate legal risks before their pieces are published — an important safeguard for reporters who may lack access to in-house legal teams.

“Being able to work directly with journalists and help protect them from legal liability before publication has been exciting,” Lee said.

At MFIA, Lee is eager to expand her work in access law, including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state public records litigation. “I’m excited to deepen my work in access law, which plays a critical role in how democracy operates in practice.” More broadly, Lee sees clinics like MFIA as essential institutions for defending free expression, especially for people who lack the resources to pursue legal action on their own.

“There just aren’t that many places for journalists or individuals to go when they’re facing speech-related issues,” Lee said. “MFIA fills a really important role in helping people who might not otherwise have the institutional or financial support to vindicate their rights.”

As she prepares to join MFIA, Lee is also thinking about the next generation of media lawyers. Her advice to young attorneys interested in the field is to approach journalists as collaborators rather than simply clients.

“No one knows the work they’re doing — or has more passion for the stories they’re telling — than journalists themselves,” she said. “The best approach is to work cooperatively with them, making sure their stories can reach the public while helping them navigate the legal risks.”

For Lee, the goal of First Amendment law ultimately returns to the same principle that first drew her to the field: protecting the stories that shape public understanding.