FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The First Amendment Coalition today welcomes Aaron Field as its first Senior Staff Attorney.
Field comes to FAC after nearly 10 years at San Francisco-based law firm Cannata, O’Toole, & Olson LLP, where he represented journalists, whistleblowers, media organizations, and others in public records, First Amendment, newsgathering, libel, defamation, and other civil matters.
Field is no stranger to FAC, as he previously served as a legal intern in 2013 while in law school. Since then, he has collaborated with FAC several times, including on two public records cases, City of Gilroy v. Superior Court and San José Spotlight and First Amendment Coalition v. City of San José. He also was part of the legal team that represented FAC — along with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter (SPJ NorCal) — in moving to unseal search warrant materials in the case of journalist Bryan Carmody, whose apartment was raided by San Francisco Police Department officers in 2019.
In Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times v. Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Field brought and won one of the first public records act lawsuits by news media organizations to enforce SB 1421, California’s landmark police transparency law.
As Senior Staff Attorney, Field will oversee a newly expanded legal portfolio, with a focus on strategic litigation that holds California public agencies accountable under free speech and open government laws.
“With the fundamental rights that underpin our democracy under direct and frequent attack, Aaron’s arrival at FAC couldn’t come at a more important time,” said David Snyder, Executive Director, First Amendment Coalition. “We’re thrilled he has chosen to bring his wealth of experience and expertise to help us advance and protect the right of access to government, a free press and freedom of expression.”
Field is a graduate of the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. He is a member and former Attorney Co-Chair for the Freedom of Information Committee of SPJ NorCal, and is an active member of the California bar.
Field’s hire marks the start of an aggressive staff expansion for FAC made possible by a three-year, $1.65 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In addition to the new Senior Staff Attorney position, FAC in 2025 will add two new staffers to expand the organization’s journalist-education programs to support local journalism across California and across the country.