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Christian Legal Society

February 25, 2023

Christian Legal Society (CLS) is a fellowship of Christians dedicated to serving Jesus Christ through the practice and study of law, the defense of religious freedom and life, and the provision of legal aid to the needy.

OUR VISION

“Seeking Justice with the Love of God”
Luke 11:42; Matthew 23:23

Christian Legal Society (CLS), founded in 1961, seeks to fulfill God’s command found in Micah 6:8 by bringing glory to God by inspiring, encouraging, and equipping Christian attorneys and law students, both individually and in community, to proclaim, love, and serve Jesus Christ through the study and practice of law, through the provision of legal assistance to the poor and needy, and through the defense of the inalienable rights to life and religious freedom.

Visit the Christian Legal Society Website

CLS Objectives

To proclaim Jesus as Lord through all we do;
To defend the religious freedom of all Americans through the legislatures and courts;
To defend the religious freedom of students to gather on their campuses as Christian organizations;
To promote justice for the poor, religious freedom, sanctity of human life, and biblical conflict resolution;
To encourage Christian attorneys to view law as a ministry and help them integrate faith and their legal practice;
To provide Christian attorneys a means of society and fellowship;
To encourage and disciple Christian law professors and students;
To provide a forum for discussing issues related to Christianity and the law;
To encourage attorneys and law students to serve the poor and needy.

Visit the Christian Legal Society Website

Our Invitation To All

Professor Elton Trueblood called it the “Strategy of Jesus.” This strategy, as set forth by Professor Trueblood, well describes what we all need and the kind of “society” CLS aspires to be:

What we need is not intellectual theorizing or even preaching, but a demonstration. One of the most powerful ways of turning people’s loyalty to Christ is by loving others with the great love of God. We cannot revive faith by argument, but we might catch the imagination of puzzled men and women by an exhibition of a fellowship so intensely alive that every thoughtful person would be forced to respect it. If there should emerge in our day such a fellowship, wholly without artificiality and free from the dead hand of the past, it would be an exciting event of momentous importance. A society of genuine loving friends, set free from the self-seeking struggle for personal prestige and from all unreality, would be something unutterably priceless and powerful. A wise person would travel any distance to join it.

Should you seek such a society, you are cordially invited to join CLS, and add your voice to the many other Christians in the legal profession.

All are encouraged to associate through a CLS attorney or law student chapter. If there is not yet a convenient local chapter to join in your area, we would invite all to associate with at least three like-minded attorneys or law students for the purpose of starting a chapter. CLS will help you join or start a local chapter. It’s easy. Just ask for a copy of our Attorney or Law Student Manuals.

If you are already a member of Christian Legal Society, use the CLS membership brochure and membership application to encourage a friend or colleague to join.

In the memorable words of former Chaplain of the Senate, Dick Halverson, we believe that each member of this Society can be like “a garment which Jesus Christ wears every day to do what Jesus wants to do” with his or her life. Seen from this perspective, “we don’t need power; our weakness is an asset. If Christ is truly in each of us as we all have confessed, then what more do we need to follow Him?” And so, as we move forward, we are committed to following the example of servant-leadership Jesus has modeled for us. John 13:14-15

Visit the Christian Legal Society Website