Matthew L. Schafer

Adjunct Professor of Law 

Matt Schafer is a media lawyer and currently serves as Assistant General Counsel, Litigation for ViacomCBS.  In that role, he oversees federal and state litigation across ViacomCBS subsidiaries, focusing on content related claims, including defamation, copyright, invasion of privacy, and subpoenas for newsgathering material.

Prior to joining ViacomCBS, Matt served as newsroom counsel to BuzzFeed News, where he advised on day-to-day legal matters arising from gathering and reporting the news in the United States and abroad. He also litigated Freedom of Information Act cases in state and federal court on behalf of BuzzFeed and its reporters.

Before leaving private practice, Matt practiced at Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, the preeminent First Amendment litigation boutique in the United States. A substantial amount of his practice was dedicated to counseling clients on government transparency issues at federal and state levels and in the military commissions at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. 

Matt earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center.

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