Who is CLS?
Here's a summary description of the Christian Legal
Society, what we do and what you can do through CLS.
Who CLS is?
CLS is the largest national non-denominational membership organization of Christian attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students (with over 90 attorney chapters and 165 law student chapters) located in over 1100 cities, all 50 states and 10 foreign countries, working in association with many other like-minded and people and organizations, seeking to follow Jesus' command to the lawyers, judges, governmental and church leaders in every generation "to do justice with the love of God." Luke 11:42; Matthew 23:23.
Founded in Chicago in 1961 by four lawyers who first met to pray together at the American Bar Association Convention in 1959, the Christian Legal Society is today a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) Illinois religious corporation with its national headquarters in Annandale, Virginia (a suburb of Washington, D.C.). Most grateful for the Lord's faithfulness over the years, CLS in the years ahead stands ready, through its various ministries, to serve as witness to our Lord's justice, mercy and faithfulness.
What is CLS' Vision and Mission?
Acting through its national staff, its member volunteers and its attorney and law student chapters, the Society's vision is to identify, equip and mobilize "a growing national grassroots network of lawyers and law students committed to proclaiming, loving and serving Jesus Christ, through all we do in the practice of law, and by advocating biblical conflict reconciliation, public justice, religious freedom and the sanctity of human life." Stated simply, in Jesus' words, CLS seeks to "do justice with the love of God" (Luke 11:42, Matthew 23:23) through each of its four ministries:
· The Center for Law and Religious Freedom (CLRF) [legal advocacy and public education advancing religious liberty and the sanctity of human life]] · Public Ministries [legal aid for the poor, biblical conflict reconciliation, and legal referral](LACC); · Attorney Ministries [attorney spiritual formation and discipleship, chaplaincy, membership benefits, conferences, administration, and development services] (AM) and · Law Student Ministries (LSM) [student outreach, discipleship and mentoring]
How is CLS Organized?
Each ministry is headed up by a full-time paid or volunteer director, who reports to CLS' Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, through CLS' Chief Operating Officer, David J. Lee. Since February 1, 2009, Fred L. Potter has served as CLS' Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer. Please feel free to write Fred at fpotter@clsnet.org or Dave Lee atdjlee@clsnet.org with any suggestions, comments or concerns you may have.
A voluntary, 30-member Board of Directors elected by the CLS membership for staggered terms of three years governs CLS. All members of the Board Directors serve without compensation for their services as directors. The Executive Director and CEO of CLS is a voting ex officio member of the Board of Directors and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. The officers of CLS are members of the Board of Directors elected by the Board of Directors to serve two-year terms. The current President and Chairman of the Board of Directors is David J. Allen of Wheaton, Illinois. Please feel free to write Dave at dallen@vkgroup.com with any suggestions, comments or concerns you may have.
How is CLS Accountable?
CLS is a founding member in good standing of the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (www.ecfa.org). CLS receives no government support. CLS financial statements are audited annually by a certified public accountant. All books and records of CLS are available for inspection by its members for any proper purpose at reasonable times. CLS' most recent Annual Report, by-laws, Annual IRS Report (Form 990) and its other tax-exemption documentation are available for inspection by any CLS member, donor or friend. To get any of this information, please write to David J. Lee at djlee@clsnet.org.
How can I join CLS?
Any person can become a CLS member by completing a CLS membership application, including signing the CLS Statement of Faith, and paying the required annual dues for their membership category. The three basic CLS membership categories are regular members (attorneys, law graduates, judges, law professors), student members, and associate members (persons who are neither regular nor student members). Only regular members serve as officers of CLS attorney chapters, or can be nominated to become a member of or vote for the CLS Board of Directors. Non-members are welcome to attend CLS chapter meetings, but are always encouraged to become members. Members are encouraged to sponsor non-members to become members. To get additional membership information or a membership application, please can also write Brent McBurney, CLS' Attorney Ministries Director, at MemMin@clsnet.org or call him at 703-642-1070, Ext. 3206.
What Does CLS Do?
CLS is thankful for the extraordinary number of big and small ways we can follow Christ's example, using CLS' ministries, to assist others through CLS staff and our members' local and national efforts. Here are some of those ways:
CLS equips attorneys for service:
- Through our web site, CLS connects attorneys with prayer, fellowship, legal referral, law placement, advocacy, jurisprudential and other CLS membership resources and services.
- By publishing a unique, national member directory and maintaining a legal referral network that received over 150 requests per week. Christian attorneys, judges and law students across the nation can locate each other and be located through the CLS membership directory and the national lawyer referral network.
- By providing instructive, informative and inspirational publications, resources and seminars on the Christ-centered practice of law.
- By fostering local ministry by attorneys and law students, individually, and through CLS chapters.
- By offering training in how to provide legal assistance and other help for the truly needy in a Christian manner, CLS encourages its members to not only improve their communities, but to increase their own zeal for God by obeying His commandments.
- By offering or co-sponsoring continuing legal educational opportunities, particularly in the fields of legal ethics, jurisprudence, legal aid, law office management, non-profit organizations, family law, alternative dispute resolution, religious liberty and sanctity of human life defense.
CLS protects and advances the inalienable rights to religious freedom and the sanctity of human life:
- By recruiting and equipping Christian lawyers with the counsel and practical tools they need to defend religious liberty and the sanctity of human life on "the front lines" in their local communities.
- By expanding the Center for Law and Religious Freedom's (CLRF) legal services in 1993 to include the advocacy of the sanctity of innocent human life from conception to natural death in all available legal fora.
- By responding to legislators, ministries, educators and laypeople with legal analyses and an experiences and reasoned perspective on the legal rights and ethical opportunities available to the Christian community.
- By long serving as a leader and coalition-builder among the broad variety of religious and public interest groups interested in the protection of religious freedom in America, leading to such legislative or executive branch accomplishments as the Equal Access Act (1984), the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993), Department of Education Guidelines on the Current Law in the Public Schools (1995), Presidential Directive: Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace (1997)the " charitable choice" provisions of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (H.R.3734), Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1998 (H.R.2604, S.1244), and the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (S. 1868, H.R.2461), Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
- By representing and serving as counsel of record in the public interest, through its affiliated public interest law firm, CLRF Advocates, Inc. (doing business as Religious Liberty Advocates or Human Life Advocates), a selected group of individuals and organizations whose legal claims raise novel or significant issues respecting religious freedom or the sanctity of human life.
- By contributing, in cooperation with the Alliance Defense Fund, to the growing Blackstone Legal Resource Center http://www.blrc.org that provides both public information and more specialized legal information useful to the Center's staff and volunteer attorneys.
CLS reaches out to the more than 120,000 law students in America:
- By establishing law student chapters on the more than 180 law school campuses in the USA.
- By establishing a national and local network of attorney mentors for law students.
- By cultivating and nurturing a national network of law professors.
- By establishing the Institute for Christian Legal Studies as a joint ministry with Regent Law School
- By maintaining a web site based law placement service.
- By annually sponsoring or co-sponsoring national and regional law student leadership conferences, and other law internship opportunities.
CLS advocates and promotes biblical conflict reconciliation:
- By being a "Partner in Peacemaking" with Peacemaker Ministries.
- By partnering with like-minded Christians and Christian organizations, CLS trains and encourages its members to equip and assist churches, ministries and Christian organizations to respond to conflict biblically.
- By promoting Biblical principles of reconciliation in personal and community relationships.
- By promoting and facilitating Christian mediation and conciliation various agencies, particularly the Institute for Christian Conciliation, as a viable means of alternative dispute resolution.
CLS promotes equal access to justice for the poor and needy:
- By encouraging churches and CLS member attorneys, law students and paralegals to creatively provide legal aid to the poor, particularly through CLS' Christian Legal Aid Program
- By developing resources and training opportunities for CLS members designed to facilitate the provision of legal aid to the poor.
- By developing joint ventures with other Christian organizations assisting the poor, particularly the International Union of Gospel Missions and the Salvation Army.
What You Can I Do For CLS?
Here's how CLS is Raising and Expending its Revenues in 2004.
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Here's A Checklist for What You Can Do to Support CLS in 2004:
Please pray for and with CLS regularly. (Contact CLS Chaplain Glandion Carney at 205-933-1940 for specific prayer requests)
Join CLS if you are not already a member.
(Many think they are members, but are either lapsed; unrenewed in the membership year ending 12/31/2001 or local CLS chapter attenders who never actually joined CLS)
.
Renew your membership in 2004 if you are already a current member. To make it easy, sign up for
Auto-Renewal
.
Wear your CLS membership pin to work if you are already a current CLS member. Call for a pin if you need one.
Introduce your friends and colleagues to CLS. Call or write for brochures. Give them a copy of the
CLS Vision and Mission Statement
, or a copy of this checklist.
Invite your friends and colleagues to join CLS. You don't have to be a lawyer or law student to join; such "associate" members can now join for only $50. Every member supports the CLS mission. Write for a membership application, or get one at www.christianlegalsociety.org. Join or renew your membership on-line at CLS' web site.
Mentor a CLS law student. E-mail
or call CLS' Law Student Ministries at 703-642-1070 ext. 3303 for details about law school chapters and law student members near you. The students need your help.
Get CLE-accreditable training to provide CLS-sponsored "Christian Legal Services" to the poor and then volunteer your "
pro Deo
" services or financial support locally through CLS' Public Ministries, John Robb at 505-765-5900, e-mail him at
Attend local CLS chapter meetings for workplace prayer and fellowship, or start a CLS attorney or law school chapter where one does not exist. It is easy, useful and inspiring. For further local chapter information, e-mail
or call Brent McBurney at CLS Attorney Ministry Services at 703-642-1070, ext. 3206.
Receive help and training through CLS' Center for Law & Religious Freedom, then do what you can locally to protect religious freedom and the sanctity of human life. For further information, e-mail Greg Baylor at
or call him at 703-642-1070, ext. 3502.
Become or continue being a CLS Donor. As you can see above, membership dues only provide 27% of the revenues CLS' needs to provide its various ministries.
See if your place of worship would be interested in supporting CLS or one of its ministries. Send CLS the names of the Christian attorneys and law students in your church, or ask your church to do so.
Send us the names, addresses or telephone numbers of anyone you think may be interested in joining CLS or donating to CLS' charitable work.
Consider making a current gift of stock or other securities. Call or write for helpful information and advantages of such a donation, or e-mail Phil Anderson at
We will be happy to send you a helpful brochure.
Mark you calendar to attend CLS'