Attorneys advise Kansas editors

Three Lawrence attorneys advised more than a dozen Kansas newspaper editors about covering trials and legal topics during a recent meeting of the Kansas Associated Press Managing Editors at the Dole Institute of Politics.

David Brown, managing attorney for The Law Offices of David J. Brown, Lawrence, proposed rules for reporters to follow when interviewing lawyers. Susan Pokorny, who is of counsel in Brown’s office and president of the Kansas Bar Foundation, clarified distinctions between various legal terms and practices.

Charles Branson, Douglas County district attorney, discussed legal rules lawyers cite as barring them from speaking to reporters, and reviewed other rules and laws that prohibit prosecutors from disclosing certain information to the public.