Tennessee media lawyer Paul McAdoo will join the Reporters Committee as Local Legal Initiative attorney 

The Reporters Committee announced today that Paul McAdoo will join the organization March 2 as a Local Legal Initiative attorney based in Tennessee.

Through its new Local Legal Initiative, the Reporters Committee will expand its direct legal support for local enterprise and investigative reporting by hiring attorneys to provide targeted support in five jurisdictions across the country, including Tennessee.

“Paul’s extensive experience as a media attorney will be a tremendous asset to the Local Legal Initiative, and we are thrilled that he is joining the Reporters Committee as we expand to help more journalists pursue enterprise and investigative stories in their communities,” said Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Executive Director Bruce Brown.

Paul is joining the Reporters Committee from Adams and Reese LLP in Nashville, where he worked on a variety of complex litigation issues, including with media clients.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Reporters Committee and the Local Legal Initiative,” McAdoo said. “Throughout my career, I’ve worked with news organizations on a wide variety of open government issues, and it’s always rewarding to see the stories that are told as a result.”

The Local Legal Initiative is funded with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In addition to Tennessee, the Reporters Committee will add attorneys in Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania in 2020. Candidates interested in these positions can learn more on the Reporters Committee website.

“The legal challenges that local reporters face in Tennessee made it an ideal location for a Reporters Committee attorney,” said Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Legal Director Katie Townsend. “Through our proposal process, our partners in Tennessee identified excessive delays in accessing public records and overly broad exemptions as major areas of concern. We are excited that Paul will be joining us, and working on exactly these types of matters as part of our new Local Legal Initiative.”