Contact: Mark Fefer, Marketing Communications, 206.757.8583 or markfefer@dwt.com
NOV. 12, 2020 – A Trump Administration ban on TikTok was scheduled to take effect today. Instead, some 80 million users are still freely exercising their speech rights on the video app, thanks to the work of Ambika Kumar Doran and her team. Last month, Doran successfully argued for and won a court decision enjoining the ban—the latest in a string of victories she has secured in cases raising critical issues for the digital economy.
In recognition of her record of success and innovation, the National Law Journal has named Doran to its inaugural list of First Amendment Trailblazers.
Doran, a partner in the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine, is a go-to lawyer on content liability, electronic privacy, and many other emerging First Amendment issues. She has served a long list of diverse clients, ranging from activist short-sellers to the world's top tech companies.
Doran has successfully bridged media and First Amendment work for traditional clients with those operating in the new digital arena, where speech rights are being asserted and challenged in ever-evolving ways. Earlier this year, she won dismissal, on First Amendment grounds, of a high-stakes right-of-publicity claim against Microsoft arising from "Gears of War," one of the world's most popular video game franchises.
At a relatively young age, Doran has risen to become co-chair of Davis Wright Tremaine's industry-leading media and entertainment practice. She also serves on the firm's executive committee. The National Diversity Council has named her one of Washington State's "Most Powerful and Influential Women."
Doran maintains an active commitment to pro bono work. She's currently in litigation to stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from selectively targeting outspoken immigration-rights activists for deportation. ICE has twice tried and failed to get the case dismissed.
Doran has also challenged a Tennessee statute banning ministers who were ordained online from solemnizing marriages. The measure was widely viewed as a backdoor effort to undermine marriage equality, since same-sex couples often seek nontraditional officiants for their weddings. On behalf of a Seattle-based leader in online ordination and several ministers in Tennessee, Doran and a team of other lawyers argued that the statute violates her clients' First Amendment rights to religious freedom and speech—resulting in an order requiring the state to maintain the status quo while the issue is fully litigated.
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with approximately 550 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. The firm is widely recognized for having the country's leading First Amendment litigation practice. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.