Laurel L. Baker is a litigation attorney at the law firm of Phillips Murrah. (Courtesy photo)

The Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), commonly referred to as the Texas Anti-SLAPP statute, serves as a constitutional safeguard protecting the "rights of persons to petition, speak freely, associate freely, and otherwise participate in government to the maximum extent permitted by law and, at the same time, protect[s] the rights of a person to file meritorious lawsuits for demonstrable injury." In other words, the statute provides litigants a valuable tool: an early opportunity to move to dismiss a lawsuit that infringes on their First Amendment rights, and, if successful, an award of attorney fees.