“I think every news organization needs someone like Herschel… If we don’t have people like Herschel fighting for us, ultimately our freedoms are at risk.”
-Detroit Free Press Editor Peter Bhatia
Herschel Fink has joined Hertz Schram as Of Counsel to the firm’s First Amendment and Media Law and Litigation Practice Groups, where he will continue his practice representing news organizations, media and entertainment companies, and high-profile personalities in a broad range of First Amendment and intellectual property issues.
Herschel is also the long-time Legal Counsel for the Detroit Free Press and USA Today Network’s six Michigan newsrooms, which he continues to represent separately. Previously, he was a senior partner at the Honigman firm, where he founded and headed its media law practice for 35 years and most recently Of Counsel at Jaffe Raitt. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Herschel spent a decade as a reporter and editor on major newspapers. He also taught media law for a decade as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism at Wayne State University in Detroit.
In his legal career, Fink has represented national television networks, local TV stations, national wire services, and numerous newspapers and national magazines in libel, privacy, and related matters. He has successfully defended motion picture studios, authors and entertainment industry figures in numerous copyright, privacy and defamation cases.
He successfully defended rap music icon Dr. Dre in a 10-year long libel and First Amendment fight, ultimately winning in the Michigan Supreme Court. In another high-profile case, he successfully defended documentary filmmaker Michael Moore in a libel and privacy suit over his Academy Award-winning film “Bowling for Columbine” against the brother of one of the Oklahoma City federal building bombers, who was featured in the film. In another case, lasting 12 years, he led the successful federal court defense of a Detroit Free Press reporter against efforts to force him to disclose a confidential source.
One of Fink’s career highlights was successfully taking on the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of the Detroit Free Press over its post 9-11 secret deportation proceedings against persons deemed security threats, prompting Sixth Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith to agree in a celebrated decision that “Democracies die behind closed doors.” Notably, the prestigious Chambers and Partners in its “Band One” attorney rankings said, “Herschel Fink makes his way into the table on the strength of his ‘nationally recognized, groundbreaking’ First Amendment practice, representing high-profile newspapers, broadcasting and celebrity clients. His expertise in this area is such that ‘everybody listens to him,’ a fact evinced by his regular participation in addressing the state judiciary on such matters as the presence of the press in the courtroom.”
Read The Detroit Jewish News Profile
Practice Areas
Herschel counsels and defends news organizations, media and entertainment companies, and high-profile personalities in a broad range of First Amendment, news gathering and intellectual property issues.
Education
- Michigan State University College of Law, JD, 1972
- Wayne State University, BA Journalism
Bar Admissions
- Michigan, 1972
- Florida, 1992
Photo from the Detroit Jewish News.
Practice Areas
Herschel counsels and defends news organizations, media and entertainment companies, and high-profile personalities in a broad range of First Amendment, news gathering and intellectual property issues.
Education
- Michigan State University College of Law, JD, 1972
- Wayne State University, BA Journalism
Bar Admissions
- Michigan, 1972
- Florida, 1992
Photo from the Detroit Jewish News.
Examples of Excellence
- Successfully defended rap music icon Dr. Dre in a 10-year First Amendment fight, ultimately winning in the Michigan Supreme Court.
- Successfully defended documentary film maker Michael Moore in a libel suit over Moore’s Academy Award winning film “Bowling for Columbine.”
- Successfully defended a Detroit Free Press reporter against 12-year effort in federal courts to force him to disclose a confidential source.
- Successfully took on the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of the Detroit Free Press over the Department’s post 9/11 secret deportation proceedings of persons deemed security threats, prompting U.S. Sixth Circuit Judge Damon Keith to agree in a celebrated decision that “Democracies die behind closed doors.”
- Represented the Detroit Free Press in the unearthing of public records in the “text message” scandal that led to the conviction of then Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his 28-year prison sentence. The Free Press won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the scandal and the reporters called Herschel “a member of the team.” That case also earned Herschel a prestigious National First Amendment Award from the Society of Professional Journalists “for extraordinarily strong efforts to preserve and strengthen the First Amendment.”
- Successfully defended NBC and the Motown Temptations from claims of libel and commercial appropriation over a “docudrama” about the famed singing group’s career, winning the case in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
- Successfully defended author Stephen King from copyright infringement claim over the motion picture of his novel “Christine.”
- Successfully defended NBC and comedian Jay Leno from a libel claim over a joke on his long-running NBC late-night program.
Professional & Community Leadership
- Herschel’s community activities include a founding leadership role in the now almost 30-year-old Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.
- Taught media law to journalists for a decade as assistant adjunct professor of journalism at Wayne State University in Detroit.
- Frequent speaker at national media law conferences and on media law topics to gatherings of lawyers, judges and college classes.
- Herschel’s cases are leading Michigan precedents in defamation, privacy, and open government law, and he has authored or co-authored Michigan law sections of publications on public records and open meetings access, and on libel for organizations such as Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Media Law Resource Center.
Honors & Awards
- Society of Professional Journalists National First Amendment Award “for extraordinarily strong efforts to preserve and strengthen the First Amendment”
- “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Society of Professional Journalists Michigan Chapter (first time a lawyer was honored)
- Named a Crain’s Detroit Business “Power Lawyer”
- Named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s “Leaders in the Law”
- State Bar of Michigan Award, November 2019, to a member of the Bar “who has significantly enhanced arts, communications, entertainment or sports” law
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“a highly-regarded First Amendment litigator with superlative knowledge of free speech issues”)
- Consistently listed in America’s Best Lawyers under First Amendment law
Testimonials
Awards and Accolades
