The First Amendment Clinic and its Legal Fellow Samantha Hamilton were featured in the Georgia Recorder regarding Columbus Water Works releasing details of legal charges associated with new water quality requirements being imposed. The article titled "Columbus spends big to fight against Chattahoochee pollution limits" was written by Jill Nolin and published 12/17/20.
The First Amendment Clinic successfully opposed efforts by CCW, a public utility company, to hide from public view the money it paid to private counsel to fight compliance with clean water regulations. CWW initially refused to disclose its legal fees on the grounds of attorney-client privilege. After the clinic argued that the privilege did not apply to aggregate attorney billing amounts, CWW disclosed the totals.
This case was handled by Hamilton, second-year student Davis M. Wright and third-year student Anish Patel under the supervision of clinic Director Clare R. Norins.