Spotlight On: Rani Gupta, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP

In honor of International Women’s History Month 2026, we are turning the spotlight on an attorney with firsthand insight into the intersection of journalism and law in pre-publication review and records requests.

Gupta, who has a background in journalism herself, is a Partner at Covington & Burling LLP and has supported news organizations enrolled in ProJourn since 2023. Her pro bono work includes assisting with pre-publication review and records requests, helping local journalism organizations navigate important legal needs.

Recently, Gupta represented CalMatters in a California Public Records Act lawsuit after the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority denied requests for incident reports documenting deaths, assaults, and other emergencies inside LA homeless shelters, citing attorney-client privilege. The case settled in December 2024, with LAHSA agreeing to release at least 175 incident reports every other week (with personally identifiable information about residents excluded) until CalMatters’ request, covering an estimated 5,000 reports, is fulfilled.

As CalMatters investigative editor Andy Donohue put it: «So often agencies stonewall reporters’ requests and just hope they go away. If you’re going to get the records you need for your stories, the agencies have to know you won’t go away. And, most of the time that means they have to know you have good lawyers.»

As a former journalist, I know public records requests are an unglamourous yet essential part of investigative reporting and enjoy helping journalists obtain these records.

Rani Gupta, Covington & Burling LLP

We’re grateful to Rani for the time she dedicates to supporting local journalism and ProJourn.

Learn more about ProJourn’s Pre-Publication Review work.

Interested in making a difference? Visit projourn.org/volunteer to learn more.