'I'm suing you for libel' So now what?

Dewey Demo pleads case at Midwinter Conference

A local politician calls you, furious because your newspaper published a story about his misdeeds and now he’s threatening to sue you for libel. What should you do?

Find out at the TPA 57th Midwinter Conference & Trade Show just days away Jan. 22-24 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Houston.

One of the conference highlights is a mock libel trial coordinated by lead attorney James McCown and his top-notch team of young lawyers from one of the state’s leading media-related law firms Jackson Walker.

The scenario the team has prepared is informative and entertaining and a must-attend for newspaper publishers.

Texas lawmaker Dewey Demo stays behind when all of his colleagues run off to New Mexico to stall the state legislative process. A newspaper falsely reports that Dewey Demo is one of the escapees.

TPA members will play the trial roles and the lawyers will lead the audience through the intricacies of a libel trial. The mock libel trial is on the conference program for 8 a.m. Saturday morning, Jan. 24.

Deadline for TexSCAN members to take advantage of the free conference package was Dec. 31 but regular registrants have until Jan. 16 to sign up. Register online at events.texaspress.com/winter.html or call 800-749-4793 for a registration form.

The mock libel trial fits into the conference theme “A Look at the Law” and all the topics focus on the legalities of running a newspaper — intellectual property/copyright, First Amendment, labor issues and photography ethics.

Friday luncheon keynote speaker is Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the Friday night banquet features live entertainment by the Bar & Grill Singers, a group of Austin attorneys who poke fun at their profession.

The Trade Show features 56 exhibitors as well as the Texas Newspaper Foundation Silent Auction and judging in the 2004 Midwinter Special Sections Contest.