Attorney and producer Laverne Berry to discuss ‘Documenting Democracy’

Laverne Berry, attorney and producer of the documentary “Capturing the Flag,” about the 2016 election, will speak at Yale on Thursday, Oct. 4 as a Poynter Fellow in Journalism. Her talk, “Documenting Democracy,” will take place at 7 p.m. in William L. Harness Hall, Rm. 117, at 100 Wall St. It is free and open to the public.

“Capturing the Flag” follows Berry and two friends as they travel from New York City to North Carolina to do voter protection work at the polls, only to find themselves confronting modern-day voter suppression tactics. Berry has been working extensively on voter protection efforts for the past 10 years, and currently works with the New York-based Team4NC and the New York Democratic Lawyers Council on voting rights issues.

In her private practice, Berry focuses on entertainment and media business affairs, and has represented independent film and television products, directors, production companies, distribution companies, authors, and media companies. She has lectured widely on media legal issues and copyright issues, as well as on mediation in the entertainment industry.

Prior to joining the legal profession, Berry was a television producer and distribution executive. She was the executive producer of “Perfectly Normal for Me” and “The Silent Truth.” She was the co-executive producer for the Emmy-nominated documentaries “Chely Wright: Wish Me Away” and “The Lady in Question is Charles Busch.”

Berry is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization Dispute Panel and the American Arbitration Association Commercial Arbitration Panel and Mediation Panel. She has been named among the New York Metro Area Super Lawyers by Thomas Reuters for six years, and was included as one of the top women attorneys in the city in the New York Metro Super Lawyers supplement published in The New York Times 2014 to 2017.

The Poynter Fellowship in Journalism was established by Nelson Poynter, who received his master’s degree in 1927 from Yale. The fellowship brings to campus distinguished reporters, editors, and others who have made important contributions to the media. Among recent Poynter fellows are Chloe Veltman, Leslie Jamison, and Vinson Cunningham.