Stephen H. Philbin, II Fellowship,
First Amendment / Media Law

Stephen H. Philbin, II was a partner with the firm of Locke Purnell Boren Laney & Neely in Dallas and a leading authority on media law, advising many of the large media organizations in Texas.  He was a zealous defender of the First Amendment and the go-to lawyer of The Dallas Morning News and other publications, and broadcast companies owned by what was then known as the A.H. Belo Corporation on libel law, regulations and licensing of broadcast properties, and fair comment rulings.

​

Stephen Philbin had a great dedication to the freedom of the press and a love for newsgathering.  He was at his best when he was asked to provide pre-publication review of stories that had some risk and enjoyed working with the reporters ironing out any problems he spotted with his expert eye while still getting the essence of the story across.  It was a great passion of his.  He was an enthusiastic, dedicated, driven advocate for the press.  While Steve had a broad-ranging law practice, representing and championing the media and journalists was the most important aspect to him personally.  Steve grew up in Wharton, TX and followed his grandfather’s career path by receiving his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from Harvard Law School.  

 

Following his untimely death from leukemia in 1982 at age 39, the family of Stephen Philbin established a memorial award for journalists, selected by the Dallas Bar Association Media Relations Committee, for excellence in legal reporting.  The Stephen H. Philbin, II Awards have been given since 1983.  Susan Rowan Philbin, Steve’s sister, broadened the memorial awards to include a summer fellowship in First Amendment/Media Law to encourage law students who have a similar passion as Steve.   

 

The Stephen H. Philbin, II Fellowship will award a stipend each summer to two SMU Law students who have completed their first or second year of law school and place them in a six- to ten-week summer internship in the SMU Law First Amendment Clinic. The stipend will be $5,000 (6 weeks) up to $8,333 (10 weeks). The students will work closely with the Clinic Director and Clinic Fellow on the Clinic’s highly active docket, including First Amendment civil rights claims, defamation cases, and counseling of journalists and media organizations. The work will involve a mix of litigation and counseling, and the students should expect to gain experience in drafting pleadings, briefs, letters, and other documents and in working with co-counsel and opposing counsel.