The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press will present McGuireWoods partner Brad Kutrow with its Freedom of the Press Pro Bono Award. The honor recognizes Kutrow for his work in a national program that provides journalists and news organizations with the legal resources needed to serve their communities effectively.
Kutrow will receive the award Oct. 15, 2025, during the Reporters Committee’s Freedom of the Press Awards in New York. The annual awards recognize the accomplishments of leaders in the news media and legal fields whose work embodies the values of the First Amendment.
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Kutrow is McGuireWoods’ lead partner in the Protecting Journalists Pro Bono Program (ProJourn). Operated by the Reporters Committee, ProJourn brings together teams of law firm media attorneys and corporate in-house counsel to meet the growing needs of local journalists. Kutrow assists nonprofit and startup news organizations with prepublication article review to guard against defamation and helps with public records requests that local governments do not fulfill.
“The essential work of local news organizations — keeping communities informed — can hinge on their access to legal assistance,” Kutrow said. “I am honored to back local journalism in North Carolina through the ProJourn program.”
Kutrow is a partner in McGuireWoods’ Commercial Litigation Practice Group and Appeals & Issues Practice Group. His experience includes business torts, securities, products liability, appeals and First Amendment litigation. He was founding chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section.
Before law school, Kutrow worked as a reporter for The News & Daily Advance in Lynchburg, Virginia, and as an intern for The Charlotte News and The State Port Pilot in Southport, North Carolina.