Krista Lee Baughman

Krista leads the firm’s First Amendment and defamation practice. She litigates some of the most complex and cutting-edge questions of the day, and her cases frequently make new law.

In the courtroom, Krista is a fierce advocate for her clients and has obtained multi-million-dollar judgments, rare procedural victories, and precedent-setting verdicts on their behalf. Court observers have described her trial presentation as “outstanding.” Krista’s cases have:

• Extended fair procedure rights to all California students wrongly expelled by a private high school.
• Eradicated unconstitutional policies that stifled citizens of San Clemente from speaking out at city council meetings.
• Upheld First Amendment rights for all California attorneys by defeating State Bar disciplinary charges filed in connection with attorney’s protected speech on Twitter.
• Defined the parameters of California’s “revenge porn” law as applied to elected officials; Obtained rare take-down orders protecting victim of anonymous defamation cyber campaign on Reddit, Google, WordPress, Change.org and others.
• Achieved a landmark settlement to ensure the First Amendment rights of students at UC Berkeley.
• Outside the courtroom, Krista is a sought-after speaker, writer, and advisor in free speech and civil liberties matters. Krista’s experience extends to the newsroom, where she represents her clients’ interests in response to media inquiries and public scrutiny.

In addition to her case work, Krista is proud to serve the San Francisco Bar Association as an Executive Committee member of the Litigation Section, as a Board Member of First Amendment Lawyers Association (FALA), and as a Leadership Council member of PeerForward, a nonprofit that seeks to close the education gap for low-income students.