Civil rights lawyer Carol Sobel has been named the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2026 Guardian Awardee for Contributions to Press Freedom.
“The history of civil rights in Los Angeles is as glamorous and gritty as the town itself, packed with famous characters and scenes. And you couldn’t tell that history without at least a couple chapters about the contributions of Carol Sobel,” said LAPC Press Rights Chair Adam Rose.
There are many reasons to celebrate Ms. Sobel.
“For decades, she’s championed press freedom among many other important causes. Her pro bono representation of the Press Club helped us win federal injunctions that protect our colleagues while working at protests. We are eternally grateful,” Rose said.
Ms. Sobel is also an advocate who has repeatedly sued the City of Los Angeles for violating the rights of protesters and the unhoused population. She spent 20 years working at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California until she left in 1997 to start her own practice.
Currently, Ms. Sobel is lead co-counsel in Black Lives Matter Los Angeles v. City of Los Angeles, a class action suit filed in federal court on behalf of more than 4,000 persons arrested in the city in protests against the killing of George Floyd and other persons of color by law enforcement around the country, as well as individuals subjected to use of force in the form of “rubber bullets” and batons deployed against the Floyd protesters.
Ms. Sobel also represents the Los Angeles Press Club in a number of cases resulting from First Amendment violations by federal law enforcement, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department over the last year at recent ICE raids and No Kings protests.
The Guardian Award will be presented at the 68th SoCal Journalism Awards Gala on Sunday, June 28, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
In addition to honoring Ms. Sobel, Craig Melvin (NBC) will receive the President’s Award for Impact on Media. Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa will be bestowed with our Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism. The Joseph M Quinn Lifetime Achievement Award and the Bill Rosendahl Public Service Award will also be presented this evening.
The evening will be dedicated to the memory of Will Lewis, a legendary radio personality and a former president of the Los Angeles Press Club.
Some 550 journalists and media executives are expected to attend this prestigious event.
Proceeds from the gala are the largest source of income for the Los Angeles Press Club, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that speaks for journalists across all media platforms. The income makes it possible for us to fund our educational programming, mentorship program for young journalists from underserved communities, grants for investigative journalism, scholarships, etc.
All contributions are tax-deductible.
For more information about this event or to sponsor, advertise or buy tickets, go to www.LApressclub.org or contact Executive Director Diana Ljungaeus at 310.210.1860 or email Diana@LApressclub.org.
