Preti Flaherty Partner Sigmund Schutz is among a select group of authors chosen to contribute to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’ recently published legal guides Open Government Guide and Reporters Privilege Compendium. 

Schutz practices in Preti Flaherty’s Litigation and Media Law Groups out of the firm’s Portland, Maine office.  With extensive experience representing the news media in First Amendment matters, defamation and privacy law issues, state and federal freedom of information, newsgathering and cyber law matters, Schutz was invited to author the Maine chapter in Open Government Guide. The publication is a comprehensive guide to open government law and practice in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, detailing the rights of reporters and other citizens to see information and attend meetings of state and local governments.  Schutz also authored the Maine chapter in Reporters Privilege Compendium, the most detailed examination available of the reporter’s privilege –  the right not to be compelled to reveal sources or materials in court – in every state and federal circuit.

An accomplished trial lawyer with more than twenty years in the courtroom, Schutz’s experience also includes a range of complex state and federal litigation and appeals, including product liability claims, construction litigation, commercial litigation and arbitration, civil rights and constitutional litigation, professional liability disputes and unfair trade practices and administrative claims.

He is a board member of the New England First Amendment Coalition and the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition.  He is a Fellow of the Maine Bar Foundation, American Bar Foundation, and Litigation Counsel of America.  Sig lives in Falmouth, Maine with his wife and children.