Best Practices with the Media: The High Profile Trial

11am MST, Friday, 8 September 2023

For many criminal lawyers, the scariest part of a high profile trial isn’t the case itself – it’s the sudden requests from the media. How should you respond to these questions? What are the ethical limitations? What is the media’s “agenda”, and what’s the difference between “off the record”, “on background” and “please don’t quote me!” In this seminar, three panelists will talk about what you need to know when talking to the media. Our panelists include:

Scott Hutchinson, partner at Henein Hutchinson Robitaille, who has been part of some of this country’s biggest criminal trials, and who frequently represents high-profile clients with an interest in having their story told; Jana Pruden, Globe and Mail, will provide the media’s perspective on these interactions; and Tess Layton of Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer LLP, who specializes in media work.

Join us for a fascinating seminar that will help you protect yourself and advance your clients’ interests correctly.

Scott Hutchinson

Scott Hutchinson is a is a partner at Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP. His practice includes complex civil, criminal, regulatory and constitutional litigation, with a particular interest in white collar crime and appellate advocacy. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute and has been recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada for Appellate Law and Criminal Defence and for in Chambers Canada in Dispute Resolution. He was appointed by the Attorney General and the Law Foundation of Ontario to the province’s Class Proceedings Committee.

Jana Pruden

Jana Pruden is an award-winning feature writer at The Globe and Mail.
She is the former crime bureau chief of the Edmonton Journal, and previously worked at the Regina Leader-Post, the Medicine Hat News, the Prairie Post and the Interlake Spectator. She is also a sessional journalism instructor at MacEwan University and a presenter at Pandemic University Pop-Up School of Writing.

 

Tess Layton

Tess Layton’s practice involves media and defamation law, privacy law, constitutional law, commercial litigation and administrative law. Tess has experience advising and defending journalists and media organizations of all sizes, ranging from local and regional news outlets to major national and international broadcasters. She also acts for media entities, individuals, and corporations in relation to defamation claims brought in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada.