As companies slash newsroom budgets, they are also scaling back on one of their civic duties: legal battles to gain access to government information, reports The New York Times.

But while many regional newspapers are choosing to cut expenses on lawyers, asking them to work pro bono, another trend paints the opposite story, say press advocates and First Amendment lawyers.

Some companies including Hearst and The Associated Press have been quietly stepping up their legal efforts, by doing more of the work in-house, utilizing their in-house lawyers and being more aggressive in states where they can recoup legal fees and the federal level, which also allows plaintiffs in such access cases to sue for legal fees when they win.

Despite dwindling revenues, the top lawyer at Hearst says they have never had more First Amendment lawsuits around the country than they do now.

"I think we'd be the only media company that would say that we're at an all-time high with the number of access cases we're bringing," Eve Burton, vice president and general counsel at Hearst, told the NYT.

Burton explained that one of the reasons behind their high number of press freedom cases is that the more access cases they pursue, the less libel suits they get.

But, Heart is not the only media company filing more lawsuits, The A.P. is also following in their footsteps.

At The A.P., a cooperative owned by its member newspapers, in-house lawyers have become more aggressive, pursuing a higher number of lawsuits. In 2009, the agency was party to 40 lawsuits, up from four years ago, when suits were in the low 30s, Dave Tomlin, associate general counsel for The A.P. said to the NYT.

The A.P. has been remarkably assertive in appealing denied Freedom of Information Act requests from the American federal government under the Obama administration. The Freedom of Information Act, a legislation that was passed in the 1960's requires government agencies to disclose information to the public on the basis that people have the right to know about them. Agencies; however, are not obliged to disclose information that endangers national security or foreign policy, among others. Obama's campaign promised a return to a more open and transparent government, following what media lawyers saw as a trend toward government in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

After 9/11, some news agencies were reluctant to file appeals for denied information.

When appealing a denied request, The A.P.; which hired a new in-house lawyer last year, will send documents to federal agencies to "give them a taste of what a lawsuit looks like," Tomlin said to the NYT.

Last year, The A.P. appealed over 40 denied F.O.I.A. requests, and 28 have been resolved, 24 of them successfully. The A.P. told the NYT that part of their resolve to pursue lawsuits has to do with forcing "agencies to comply with the law."

In fact, the president of The Associated Press, Tom Curley, has expressed the importance of a "strong F.O.I.A. in the hands of strong journalists with strong legal support" to break news. He believes journalists should support the passing of laws that protect the disclosure of government records and other documents, calling these laws a vital part of the "journalistic tool kit" at a speech at the Kentucky Press Association last month.

In one case last year, The A.P. sought appointment calendars and schedules for the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, as well as correspondence between Geithner and some Wall street executives. After seven months of much discussion, A.P.'s lawyers drafted a complaint. With the threat of a lawsuit, the Treasury Department released the documents.

A similar outcome followed a case involving a denied request for data about the cash-for-clunkers program. After an appeal was filed, the Transportation Department gave in and released 13,000 pages of information.

Over the last year, much of the litigation has moved from the national security arena to the financial world, seeking disclosure from agencies that have been involved in providing bailouts to Wall Street. Bloomberg L.P, known for its financial coverage, is involved in a lawsuit with the Federal Reserve to obtain information regarding the financial bailout.

The New York Times has also maintained its complaints and lawsuits, even with constricting budgets. Last year, The NYTimes created a fellowship position to help reporters file complaints and lawsuits for F.O.I.A. cases.

Hearst, the New York-based publisher, has 18 litigations under way - an all-time record, but perhaps the most notorious of all the cases involves the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of setting a fire in 1991 that killed his three children. Last fall Hearst filed a lawsuit against the Texas governor's office, seeking access to a clemency report in the case of Willingham.

Hearst's initiative and willingness to bring this lawsuit to court has heartened those who work on behalf of inmates with credible claims of innocence. These people have felt the sting of the deep cuts in newsrooms across the industry, saying that they have relied on the work of investigative journalism to get to the bottom of judicial injustices.

"It is indispensable to us that The Chronicle and the Hearst publications are actually bringing this lawsuit," said Barry C. Scheck, the co-founder of the Innocence Project in New York, which is affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and has been involved in the Willingham case. "We don't have the time or the resources."

Although some media lawyers have complained that newspapers ask them to work pro bono for access laws, these lawsuits has infinite value. The watchdog element to Hearst's suit highlights the importance of undertaking, such initiatives. These suits can not only bring up evidence that may prove a convicted person's innocence, but also strengthen democracy.