Denver Nicks joins the Reporters Committee as Local Legal Initiative attorney in Oklahoma

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press announced that Denver Nicks has been named the Local Legal Initiative attorney for Oklahoma. He succeeds Kathryn Gardner.

The Local Legal Initiative provides local news organizations with the direct legal services they need to pursue enterprise and investigative stories in their communities.

Nicks was most recently an associate attorney at Barnes Law in Tulsa, and before that a longtime journalist. He holds a J.D. from Tulane University Law School.

Since its launch in 2020, the Oklahoma Local Legal Initiative has had a significant impact on government transparency and accountability. Earlier this year, for example, Reporters Committee attorneys successfully sued the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Kevin Clardy on behalf of the McCurtain Gazette for records related to the death of a Choctaw Nation citizen following a violent encounter with local law enforcement. The lawsuit resulted in the release of bodycam footage and other requested records; it was also featured in a New Yorker story about the McCurtain Gazette’s efforts to investigate the local sheriff’s office.

“Over the last five decades, the Reporters Committee has shown how legal support makes a meaningful difference in empowering journalists to pursue the kinds of reporting that informs communities, inspires accountability, and underpins our democracy,” said Bruce D. Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Also joining RCFP are attorneys Mara Gassman and Elizabeth Soja. Reporting to RCFP Deputy Executive Director and Legal Director Katie Townsend, Gassmann will lead the organization’s robust amicus practice. Townsend welcomed the three new members to RCFP’s growing legal team.

“Their experience and passion for this important work will help us continue to meet the clear and pressing legal needs of journalists and newsrooms across the country, particularly those in local communities,” Townsend said.