Austin First Amendment lawyer Laura Prather, one of the first winners of ALM’s Tony Mauro Media Lawyer Award, has been named a Fulbright Scholar to spend this fall in Paris researching how SLAPP suits have affected human rights in the European Union, and to advocate for improvements.

In her research, Prather, head of the media law practice group at Haynes and Boone, will work with Reporters Without Borders to evaluate the trends, cultural influences and legal systems that contribute to the rise of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, and also look at regulatory efforts to prevent SLAPPs.