Kelli L. Sager

Los Angeles

Practice type: litigation

Specialty: media/entertainment, intellectual property litigation

The scope of Sager's practice has changed substantially since she began.

"When I started in 1985, there was no Internet law and nobody did social media," she said. "There are a lot more issues [now] and a lot more clients internationally. Everybody in on the Web. The breadth of the practice has grown a lot. Everyone can be a publisher."

Those issues raise questions about a reporter's privilege and who gets the benefit of protection.

While the First Amendment applies to everybody, Sager said "the biggest difference is when you get into the areas such as the shield law. How does this apply to a blogger, sitting at home, compared to someone sitting in a newsroom? How do you draw those lines?"

This new frontier continues to be tested.

"The challenge is to make sure every publisher is acting responsibly, and it's harder when you have millions of them. It's one of the things the courts are concerned about."

Sager also noted the increasing consolidation of media outlets, "with companies buying each other and struggling to find a business model."

"There are fewer larger companies in the field," she said. "On the flip side, there are a lot of new publishers and lawyers must be able to adapt to different client needs. There will be a lot more small media clients, a lot of startups and solely Internet-based publishers."

Sager said she's especially encouraged by all of the "great nonprofits" coming into the field.

"They're doing investigative journalism. It's a new business model."

- PAT BRODERICK