Admitted to practice in:

• Texas

• Connecticut

• Supreme Court of the United States

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

• Western District of Texas

• Eastern District of Texas

• Northern District of Texas

Alicia Wagner Calzada, PLLC is a boutique law firm focused on the needs of publishers, photographers and companies that utilize photography. With a background in photojournalism, Alicia has over a fourteen years of experience serving the legal needs of a broad range of local and national media organizations including broadcast, print, and online news organizations, as well as individual journalists, trade associations and photographers. Experience includes civil litigation in defamation, First Amendment, and copyright infringement matters and legislative advocacy. In recent years she was a part of a coalition that successfully advocated for the FILM Act, a federal law enacted in 2025 which eliminated permit requirements for low-impact filming in national parks, and the CASE Act, a federal law enacted in 2020 which created a copyright small claims tribunal. Alicia was part of a litigation team representing photojournalists that secured a historic settlement in 2023 changing the way the NYPD interacts with journalists, and she was a part of a team that challenged the Texas drone law in federal court and secured an injunction, though it was later overturned by the Fifth Circuit. Alicia has advocated for a broad range of state legislation that impacts journalists, news organizations, and small businesses. She counsels corporate and journalism clients on social media, photography use, drone use, open government, and contract issues.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Alicia was a photojournalist for two decades, both as a staff photographer and an independent photographer managing a small business. Her clients included a variety of magazines, newspapers, corporate and non-profit clients, and she was the president of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) from 2005-2006. She brings this wide range of industry experience to her legal work in this unique and dynamic field.

Alicia currently serves as Deputy General Counsel for NPPA and she advocates for members through legislative efforts, litigation, amicus briefs, educational efforts, and cooperation with other groups that support NPPA’s mission. In 2013, the NPPA Board of Directors introduced the Alicia Calzada First Amendment Award which is given annually in recognition of individuals that have supported advocacy work in First Amendment freedoms, particularly as it relates to photojournalism.

While in law school Alicia interned for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the chambers of the Hon. Emilio Garza and the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas in the chambers of Justice Rebecca Simmons and was an Associate Editor for the St. Mary’s Law Journal and a founding member of the Evening Student Bar Association. Before opening her own practice, she spent five years as an associate at Haynes and Boone, LLP.

Industry Leadership and Affiliations

• Board of Directors, Copyright Alliance (2025 to present)

• Executive Committee, Authors Coalition of America (2019 to present)

• Co-Chair, Coalition of Visual Artists (2013 to present)

• Member, ABA Forum on Communication Law

• Member, Bexar County Women’s Bar Association

• Member, Mexican American Bar Association of San Antonio

• 2023 NPPA Ethics Award from the National Press Photographers Association

• Recognized in “Trailblazers of Light,” a list of pioneering women in photojournalism