Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how news, features and opinion come together at The New York Times.

The Times’s legal department plays various roles in the Times newsroom, from prepublication review of stories to overseeing libel litigation, but an essential one is challenging secrecy in the courts and bringing litigation aimed at getting reporters access to government documents. A recent seven-day period serves as a snapshot of that work.

During this short time span, lawyers for The Times were involved in six motions to unseal court records, won the release of hundreds of pages of documents in a case against the C.I.A. and began work on an appellate argument in a long-running dispute over secret Justice Department documents on the interrogation of terrorism suspects.

EL CHAPO TRIAL

Last Tuesday, a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled in favor of The Times in the trial of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Mr. Guzman, the former head of the Sinaloa cartel, is accused of overseeing a massive drug-trafficking enterprise and conspiring in the murder of cartel enemies. The judge had initially wanted to hold jury selection in chambers and out of view of the news media, believing that a closed session would encourage the would-be jurors to be candid. In early October, the Times lawyers David McCraw and Al-Amyn Sumar challenged the plan on First Amendment grounds. In response, the judge reconsidered his position. While stopping short of granting full public access, he ruled that jury selection would be held in the courtroom with five reporters present to watch.