For more than 25 years, Betsy has represented large and small publishers and broadcasters in cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. She also serves as regular newsroom counsel for press clients, including POLITICO, the Chronicles of Higher Education and Philanthropy, and Allbritton’s television stations.

The Legal 500 has hailed Betsy as “top-notch” and an “intellectually keen” attorney. She has been profiled by the ABA’s Women in Communications Law Newsletter, and, through the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, was a principal drafter of the 1988 revisions to the DC Civil Jury Instructions on Defamation.

Prior to founding LSKS in 1997, Betsy was a partner in Ross, Dixon & Masback, L.L.P.

Notable Representations

Lluberes v. Uncommon Productions, LLC, 663 F.3d 6 (1st Cir. 2011). Betsy and Tom Curley are defending the makers of the 1997 documentary The Price of Sugar, which depicted the inhumane treatment of Haitian cane-cutters on sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic, in a defamation action brought by plantation owners. In a significant decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the plaintiffs are public figures who must establish actual malice in order to prevail.

In re Subpoena to Jeffrey Goldberg, 693 F. Supp. 2d 81 (D.D.C. 2010). Betsy successfully defended a reporter in quashing a subpoena issued by the Palestinian Authority in a lawsuit brought by an Israeli settler under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act. The court reaffirmed the principle that the qualified reporter’s privilege in civil actions extends to journalistic work-product that is not confidential.

OAO Alfa-Bank v. Center for Public Integrity, 387 F. Supp. 2d 20 (D.D.C. 2005). Together with Michael Sullivan and Celeste Phillips, Betsy successfully defended the Center for Public Integrity in a libel suit brought by prominent Russian “oligarchs” arising from a report linking them to criminal activities during Russia’s turbulent transition to a capitalist economy.

Pasha Publications, Inc. v. Enmark Gas Corp., 19 Media L. Rptr. 2063 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 10, 1992). In a copyright infringement action Betsy brought on behalf of Pasha Publication’s “Gas Daily,” the court ruled, in a matter of first impression, that the defendants’ repeated, unauthorized distribution of copies of the publication to its employees did not constitute fair use.