Religious Organizations
Religious organizations are unique institutions with distinct callings in the world. We partner closely with our religious clients to further their missions, protect their religious freedom, and manage legal risk. Our clients hail from diverse religious traditions and span the institutional spectrum. We represent churches and ecclesiastical bodies, faith-based charities and parachurch ministries, religious schools, Christian colleges, Catholic apostolates, Jewish nonprofits, and others.
The First Amendment and other laws safeguard religious freedom. To take advantage of these protections, organizations must articulate their religious values and incorporate them into their legal structure and policies. We work with clients to identify areas of increasing legal and cultural risk–from employee selection and healthcare benefits, to funding risks and “deplatforming”–and we help them build and strengthen their religious architecture so they can manage risk effectively and stay on mission.
We represent clients in litigation and pre-litigation disputes with government agencies and private parties to protect and defend the right to church autonomy, religious exercise, and free speech. We also get involved in select cases as amicus curiae to articulate our clients’ positions on important First Amendment issues. Our litigation experience includes key wins in legal challenges to federal healthcare mandates and the successful defense of faith-based employment decisions. Just as importantly, we help clients avoid litigation through effective planning and risk management so they can preserve their religious autonomy and freedom.
First Amendment & Public Interest
The First Amendment embodies our nation’s commitment to robust debate on issues of public importance, and it stands athwart efforts to silence dissent, “cancel” opponents, and burden conscience. Numerous other federal and state laws seek to promote government integrity and participation in the political process, including the federal Freedom of Information Act, state open-records and open-meetings laws, and anti-SLAPP legislation.
We represent clients in select cases touching on First Amendment issues and other matters of public interest. Our clients include media organizations, think tanks, public policy institutions, and individuals, and we advocate for issues like government transparency, school choice, freedom of speech, and protection of conscience.
In addition to some trial-level litigation, we represent clients on appeal in federal and state court. We also regularly submit amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts around the country, giving our clients a voice on legal issues of national or statewide significance.
General Counsel
We serve as outside general counsel to numerous religious organizations, nonprofits, and business clients. We advise on diverse issues like corporate governance, ecclesiastical structure, legal compliance, business transactions, employment, intellectual property, licensing, tax-exempt issues, and some real estate matters.
We forge long-term relationships with our clients, advising them on all manner of employment issues, from handbooks, job descriptions, and leave policies, to assisting with workplace investigations, terminations, and claim defense. We have particular expertise representing religious employers, counseling them on compliance as well as legal protections and exemptions for faith-based employment practices.
We assist clients in identifying and protecting their intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. For clients seeking to protect an existing brand or establish a new one, we provide trademark search and clearance services, and we represent clients in trademark prosecutions before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register and maintain their marks. We also assist clients with licensing agreements, creative works policies, publishing agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and noncompetes.
We work with clients on legal structure and formation. We draft organizing documents and bylaws. We assist with governance best practices, like conflict of interest policies and executive agreements. And we regularly counsel boards of directors on legal compliance, risk management, and other issues.
As outside general counsel, we assist clients with a broad array of other issues, including business transactions, independent contractor issues, summer camp and child care licensing, facility use policies, activity waivers and releases, § 501(c) compliance, and commercial leases.
