Mark Stephens, attorney for WikiLeaks director Julian Assange, will headline the 26th annual Silha lecture at Coffman Union Theater Oct. 4th.

Stephens has represented Assange since 2010, when he helped release more than 250,000 U.S. State Department cables âÄî a large portion of them deemed âÄúclassifiedâÄù by the U.S. government. Stephens also represents him in a Swedish case in which Assange has been accused of sexual misconduct.

AssangeâÄôs release of many sensitive documents, including classified documents related to the war in Afghanistan, has raised concerns on what should be made public through journalism and the media.   

Stephens is the head of the International and Media department at the London-based firm Finers Stephens Innocent, in which he has been involved in many high profile cases since the 1980s.

StephensâÄô presentation titled âÄúFree Speech and the Digital Challenge Around the GlobeâÄù will begin at 7 p.m. and will have a question and answer session open to the public following the speech.

The Silha Center, located within the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, was established in 1984 with an endowment from Otto and Helen Silha.