Defending the Accuser in a Defamation Suit: Winning Expedited Dismissal and Fees Under the New Anti-SLAPP Laws

Barry M. Landy, Partner, Chair of Business Litigation | Ciresi Conlin LLP

Barry Landy is an accomplished trial lawyer and Chambers-ranked attorney at Ciresi Conlin, renowned for his expertise in complex commercial litigation, with a particular focus on trade secrets, breach of contract, financial services litigation, and defamation actions. He represents businesses and individuals nationwide in high-stakes disputes in federal and state courts, and brings extensive experience in appellate advocacy, having appeared before multiple federal and state appellate courts.

• Education & Credentials

Barry earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he was an articles editor of the Minnesota Law Review and a student director of the Workers’ Rights Legal Clinic. He received his B.A. in Political Science, with distinction, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He clerked for the Honorable Susan Richard Nelson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. He is admitted in Minnesota, before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Minnesota and the Central District of Illinois, and before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Federal Circuit.

• Recognition & Leadership

Barry is consistently recognized for excellence in advocacy and professionalism. His honors include the Arthur T. Pfefer Memorial Award from the Cardozo Society, along with repeated recognition by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, and Minnesota Lawyer.

• Professional Involvement

Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz appointed Barry to the Merit Selection Panel advising the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on the selection of a new magistrate judge. He has sat on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association since 2021, including a term as Chapter National Delegate, and co-chaired the Hennepin County Bar Association’s Civil Litigation Section from 2015 to 2022 while also serving on that bar’s board. He is a member of The Sedona Conference’s Working Group 12 on trade secrets and its General Skill, Knowledge, and Experience Brainstorming Group, co-founded and writes for the firm’s trade secrets blog, and belongs to the Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna Intellectual Property American Inn of Court. He has moderated and presented programs for the Reyna Inn of Court, the Hennepin County Bar Association, and the Minnesota Federal Bar Association.

In the community, Governor Tim Walz appointed Barry to the Minnesota Zoo Board of Trustees, and he serves on the Steering Committee of the Twin Cities Cardozo Society and the boards of the Northside Achievement Zone, Temple Israel Synagogue, and the Hopkins Youth Baseball Association. He also takes on pro bono matters for organizations including Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and the ACLU.

• Experience

Barry is widely recognized for his courtroom advocacy and deposition skills. Among his most notable matters is a $375 million settlement in a REIT dispute following more than five years of hard-fought litigation. Renowned for his cross-examination abilities, Barry’s deposition of the defendant’s sole corporate representative was cited more than 55 times by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which relied heavily on that testimony in granting a liability finding for breach of contract in his client’s favor and dismissing all 13 counterclaims asserted by the defendant.

In addition to his trial work, Barry has achieved significant results across a wide range of complex matters, including negotiating a $27 million settlement in a royalty fee dispute and serving as Co-Lead Class Counsel in a $12.5 million ERISA class action settlement, where he successfully overcame novel defenses raised on issues of first impression. He is known for working collaboratively with corporate counsel, business leaders, and co-counsel to develop efficient, results-driven litigation strategies.

Beyond his commercial practice, Barry has an active practice defending companies and individuals in lawsuits including allegations under Minnesota’s 2024 reenactment of the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (“UPEPA”). In 2026, for example, Barry obtained two complete and expedited dismissals for clients sued for defamation and related torts targeting protected First Amendment activity. In both cases, clients were issued fee awards and achieved dismissal on several issues, such as truth or substantial truth, application of the litigation and/or fair and accurate reporting privilege, statute of limitations, and the plaintiffs’ inability to establish actual malice.

Gus Cochran, Associate | Ciresi Conlin LLP

Patrick “Gus” Cochran is an associate at Ciresi Conlin whose practice focuses on complex commercial and intellectual property litigation. He represents plaintiffs and defendants nationwide in high-stakes disputes in federal and state courts. Gus has lead-counsel experience and manages critical aspects of complex disputes, including case investigation and strategy development, briefing and arguing dispositive motions, taking and defending key fact and corporate depositions, and overseeing all phases of discovery. For his work, Gus has been recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as an “Up & Coming Attorney” and by Super Lawyers as a “Minnesota Rising Star.”

• Education & Credentials

Before joining Ciresi Conlin, Gus completed a two-year clerkship with U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud and practiced in the business litigation group of an Am Law 50 firm. Gus graduated salutatorian from Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

• Recognition & Leadership

Best Lawyers has named Gus to “Ones to Watch in America” for Commercial Litigation (2025–2027) and Intellectual Property Litigation (2026, 2027). Super Lawyers has named him a “Minnesota Rising Star”
(2025, 2026), and Minnesota Lawyer named him an “Up & Coming Attorney” (2024). Earlier, he received the Harry A. Sieben Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (2019) and was recognized as a North Star Lawyer by the Minnesota State Bar Association (2019, 2020).

• Professional Involvement

Gus serves on the Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Civil Litigation Section and is a member of The Sedona Conference’s Working Group 12 on trade secrets and its General Skill, Knowledge, and Experience Brainstorming Team. He belongs to the Warren E. Burger Inn of Court, served on the curriculum committee for the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s Court Camp, and was a member representative for Twin Cities Diversity in Practice. He writes regularly on trade secret law, including recent pieces on the Minnesota Uniform Trade Secrets Act’s displacement provision and on trade secrets in college sports revenue sharing and name, image, and likeness. His pro bono work includes representing tenants in rent escrow actions and petitioners seeking criminal expungement.

• Experience

Gus has achieved notable results across a wide range of matters, with an emphasis on business-critical trade secret litigation. In one case, Gus defended a leading relocation management company in a federal trade secret suit seeking injunctive relief and more than $50 million in damages. Gus successfully argued and defeated early motions for a preliminary injunction and expedited discovery, obtained dismissal of multiple claims at the pleading stage, prevailed in significant discovery disputes, and took pivotal depositions. In another case, Gus defended a nationally prominent manufacturer against trade secret and restrictive covenant claims seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages.

Beyond his commercial practice, Gus has developed an expertise in defending SLAPP suits under Minnesota’s 2024 reenactment of the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (“UPEPA”). Thus far in 2026, Gus has already obtained two complete and expedited dismissals for clients sued for defamation and related torts targeting protected First Amendment activity. In both cases, clients were issued fee awards and achieved dismissal on several issues, such as truth or substantial truth, application of the litigation and/or fair and accurate reporting privilege, statute of limitations, and the plaintiffs’ inability to establish actual malice.

SESSION 1 – Anti-SLAPP Defense for Clients Sued Over Police Reports and Official Complaints | Barry M. Landy, Gus Cochran | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

The speaker would teach defense-side defamation practice for clients sued after making an accusation to police, a licensing board, a court, or an employer, focusing on the first weeks after service under the new Michigan, South Dakota, Missouri, and Idaho anti-SLAPP statutes. The hour covers the effective-date argument, mapping the reporting channel to a UPEPA prong and a privilege, and drafting the client declaration while a criminal, family, licensing, or campus matter runs in parallel. This profile fits a litigator who has personally filed these special motions for complainants and can describe how first-impression judges are handling them.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Anti-SLAPP Defense for Clients Sued Over Public Accusations Online and in Print | Barry M. Landy, Gus Cochran | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

The speaker would teach one hour on defending individuals and small businesses sued for defamation after accusing someone in a post, review, press interview, or public comment. The hour covers public concern for private family and neighbor disputes, pre-effective-date speech, an element-by-element attack modeled on the Kertesz and Moreno filings, plaintiff counter-moves, and mandatory fee leverage. This profile fits a speaker who has recently filed accuser-defendant anti-SLAPP motions and fee petitions and can share what courts have actually accepted.