Kevin Baine has long been recognized as one of the nation’s leading First Amendment and media litigation attorneys. He has represented many of the country’s major media organizations, as well as major universities, churches and others in cases raising issues of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. Kevin has litigated those cases in state and federal courts throughout the country, including the United States Supreme Court. He has successfully defended well over 100 libel cases without losing any. He has also handled a wide variety of commercial, regulatory and investigative matters. Kevin began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Edward Weinfeld of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and for Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court. Born in New York City, Kevin received his A.B., cum laude, from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Kevin is an Adviser to the ALI Restatement of the Law (Third) Torts: Defamation and Privacy, and a Consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for Religious Liberty. He has been a member of the Board of Advisers of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, a member of the Board of Governors of St. Albans School, Chairman of the Board of the St. Albans School of Public Service, and Chairman of the Board of Beauvoir School. He is an Emeritus Director and a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cristo Rey Network, which includes 38 secondary schools serving low-income families in cities across the country. Representative ExperienceThough all cases vary and none is predictive, Kevin’s experience includes:
- Ongoing defense of libel suit by Donald Trump for President, Inc.
- Successful defense at trial of a libel suit against HBO by a major soccer ball company based on a report of child labor in India
- Successful defense of libel suit brought by Rep. Devin Nunes
- Successful defense of libel suit brought by West Virginia Senate primary candidate against multiple media companies
- Successful defense of libel suit by West Virginia coal executive based on satirical report by John Oliver
- Successful defense of libel suit based on report raising questions about possible nepotism by the President of the Palestinian Authority.
- Representation of a major public university in connection with its free speech policies
- Representation of the Baltimore Ravens in connection with its termination of a player for domestic violence
- Successful defense of securities fraud case against owner of for-profit education business
- Representation of the owner of The Salt Lake Tribune in a dispute over the management and future ownership of the newspaper
- Successful defense of The Catholic University of America at trial against a breach of tenure claim by theologian Charles Curran
- Successful defense against First Amendment challenge to Amtrak’s refusal to display political ad in New York’s Penn Station
- Successful defense in the Supreme Court against an Establishment Clause challenge to the provision of remedial educational services on the premises of church-related school
Additional Media Litigation Experience
- Pursuit of copyright infringement claims against Napster and a major satellite television provider
- Successful defense of multi-district libel suits arising out of news reports concerning “Operation Tailwind” in Laos in 1970
- Successful defense against claims that movie depictions of violence caused the school shootings in Paducah, Kentucky and Columbine, Colorado
- Successful defense of a television news organization’s use of hidden cameras in a report on racial profiling by the police
- Successful defense of libel suit brought against The Washington Post by Mobil President William Tavoulareas
Arbitration and Investigation Experience
- Successful representation a governmental authority in arbitration with the developer of a major real estate project in New York City
- Represented a major for-profit education company in an investigation by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
- Conducted internal investigation of misconduct allegations against college football coach
Free Exercise and Establishment Clause Experience
- Legal counsel to the Archdiocese of Washington on a variety of matters
- Advised the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in connection with the development of a national policy dealing with claims of sexual abuse of minors and approval of that policy by Church authorities in Rome
- Successful defense of The Catholic University of America at trial against a breach of tenure claim by theologian Charles Curran
- Successfully defended a series of Establishment Clause challenges to the provision of Title I remedial instruction to children in church-related schools throughout the country—work that culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203 (1997), upholding the provision of Title I services on the premises of church-related schools and overruling (for the first time in the Court’s history) a prior decision in the same case, Aguilar v. Felton, 473 U.S. 400 (1985).
- Amicus curiae briefs in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC, 565 U.S. 171 (2012); Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc, 134 S. Ct. 678 (2014).
Supreme Court Experience
- Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
- Lebron v. Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp., 513 U.S. 374 (1995), on remand, 69 F.3d 650 and 89 F.3d 39 (2d Cir. 1995)
- U.S. Dep’t of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749 (1989)
- U.S. Catholic Conference v. Abortion Rights Mobilization, Inc., 487 U.S. 72 (1988), on remand, 885 F.2d 1020 (2d Cir. 1989)
- Successful opposition to cert petitions in numerous cases
- Amicus curiae briefs in various First Amendment cases
Recognitions“Career Achievement Award,” Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2022 "Star Individual (Nationwide) in First Amendment Litigation," Chambers USA, 2017-2022 "Senior Statespeople (Nationwide) in First Amendment Litigation," Chambers USA, 2023 "Top Lawyer Hall of Fame," Washingtonian magazine, 2022 “Washington’s Top Lawyers,” in the category of First Amendment & Media, Washingtonian magazine, 2017-2022 "Legal Lion," Law360, March 2019 Recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America ® for Bet-The-Company, Commercial Litigation, First Amendment and Media Law, 1991-2021 Recognized among "Hollywood's Top 100 Attorneys," The Hollywood Reporter, 2018 “Washington, D.C. Media Law Lawyer of the Year,” The Best Lawyers in America ®, 2011 |
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