SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Orlando, FL-based attorney Lawrence G. Walters was installed as the president of the First Amendment Lawyers Association July 26 at the organization’s meeting in San Francisco, CA.FALA is an Illionis-based, 40-year-old association. Its membership is composed of more than 180 prominent First Amendment attorneys from almost every state in the U.S., plus Canada, Puerto Rico and Germany. In order to be considered for membership, attorneys must devote a significant portion of their practice to representing First Amendment interests.
FALA members cover the spectrum of media companies, including prominent Hollywood studios and adult entertainment producers. Members have represented issues ranging from the CBS-vs-Federal Communications Commission “wardrobe malfunction” case recently adjudicated by the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to cases involving high-school disputes about T-shirt slogans.
Walters, who has been a FALA member for more than 10 years and has served on the organization’s board of directors since 2005, said he was thrilled and humbled by his selection to lead the organization for the coming year.
“It’s tremendous,” he told YNOT. “FALA members have been responsible for the majority of developments in First Amendment law over the past four decades. It’s a tremendously prestigious organization, and [election as president] is very humbling to me.”
Among his goals for the coming year is to raise the association’s profile, Walters said.
“FALA has existed for a long time, but it rarely gets credit for its accomplishments,” he said. “The organization has filed decisive amicus briefs in many First Amendment cases and the members do quite a bit of pro bono work. People don’t generally realize that FALA attorneys take their own time and resources to do these things.”
Walters, managing partner of Weston, Garrou, Walters & Mooney, is well-known in the adult entertainment industry, having represented a number of industry companies and individuals in matters a diverse as zoning and obscenity cases. He also frequently speaks at adult entertainment conventions and contributes legal commentary to a variety of trade publications in the adult space.
An attorney for nearly 20 years, Walters concentrates his practice in the areas of constitutional, media and internet law. He is recognized as a national expert on legal issues pertaining to Free Speech and the Internet, and frequently contributes to television news programs on networks including NBC, ABC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC and CNN.
Walters began practicing law in 1988 after graduating from Florida State University College of Law. Today, he often represents clients in the fields of online gambling, adult entertainment, online dating and internet pharmaceuticals. He has initiated more than 100 federal law suits and defended more than 30 criminal obscenity cases, many of which involved racketeering charges.
One of his speeches dealing with the First Amendment and terrorism was published in Representative American Speeches of 2003 along with those of President George W. Bush, Dr. Condoleezza Rice and Sen. Hillary Clinton. His accolades in the legal field have earned him recognition as an honored member in the Who’s Who Registry of Outstanding Professionals, 2006-07 Edition.
