Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) / Open Records

The Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) - Pennsylvania's open records statute - provides for swift access to governmental records throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This important transparency law helps enable citizens, the media and others to hold government agencies accountable by providing access to public. Having written three editions of the legal treatise on the RTKL and having previously served as the Assistant Chief Counsel for the Office of Open Records, Attorney J. Chadwick Schnee is a leading authority on this open records statute. 

Schnee Legal Services, LLC provides a variety of services to government agencies, citizens, third party contractors and other agencies in RTKL matters, including:

• Drafting and filing Right-to-Know Law requests; 
• Training Agency Open Records Officers (AOROs) in complying with the legal requirements of the Right-to-Know Law; 
• Assisting agencies and third party contractors in responding to RTKL requests;
• Reviewing and analyzing whether any reasons for denying access apply to records, including RTKL exemptions, statutory exemptions, privileges and the constitutional right to privacy;
• Providing representation before the Office of Open Records, County District Attorney Appeals Officers, various county courts of common pleas, the Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; 
• Participating in in camera reviews, hearings and mediations before the Office of Open Records.