Zoë N. McKinney

Zoë McKinney brings several years of experience in litigation and First Amendment protections to our Media and Entertainment team. As a mission-driven attorney, her practice has involved advocating for government transparency and access to information. She has challenged policies restricting protected speech, including in public schools, at protests, and at open legislative meetings. She has worked with coalitions of journalists to advocate for law enforcement policies and practices respecting the First Amendment right to engage in newsgathering, and she has counseled clients experiencing governmental censorship on social media and facing threats of defamation claims by public officials. Her current practice includes representing media clients in anti-SLAPP motions and in disputes arising from public records requests.

Zoë has also explored how technology, privacy, and free expression online interrelate. Her earlier experience included a focus on international free speech and free press issues in the digital age that has taken her to Japan and Myanmar in support of the UN Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression mandate. She also focused on immigrants' rights and border issues in San Diego and Imperial Counties, litigating complex FOIA cases.