Legal Counsel, Church & Ministry Alliance

Everyone says they want to change the world. We’re looking for people who actually will.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith. Please visit www.adflegal.org/about-us/careers to view our Statement of Faith and Doctrinal Distinctives.

Legal Counsel,  Church & Ministry Alliance

Alliance Defending Freedom is looking for a highly skilled Legal Counsel to join us in our Scottsdale, AZ or Lansdowne, VA office. As Legal Counsel, you also serve as the key support attorney to an ADF Allied Organization, and you are also a vital part of the Church & Ministry Alliance (CMA) Legal Program Team. In this role, you will report to the Senior or Legal Counsel, CMA Group Leader. You will primarily serve the Allied Organization as a resource by providing day-to-day operational and legal assistance in a variety of areas in order to support their religious mission. In support of the Allied Organization, you will develop “outside general counsel skills” in multiple areas of the law and will work in coordination with other ADF attorneys to develop a strong relationship with the Allied Organization and its personnel.

As Legal Counsel on the CMA team, you will also conduct legal review of church and ministry governing documents, handbooks, policies, and some contracts; consult directly with churches and ministries to advise on their legal rights and responsibilities; assist in preparing and revising legal resources; and engage in public advocacy such as speaking, blogging, and appearing in all forms of media upon ADF’s request. You will meet established legal service objectives and be responsible for providing exceptional service to CMA members.

Your Essential Responsibilities:

In this position, you will:

• Provide “outside general counsel-type” services to an ADF Allied Organization
• Provide day-to-day operational legal assistance to faith-based ministries to enable them to effectively carry out their religious missions, concentrating specifically on churches, ministry organizations, or schools under a group leader.
• Formulate legal advice, resources, policies, and best practices addressing various aspects of ministry operations.
• Assist ministries in the adoption, initial implementation, and consistent application of such policies, procedures, and practices.
• Advise ministries about threats to the religious liberty of the Church, and steps to protect that religious liberty, whether generally or in response to specific situations.
• Educate ministries about threats to their religious liberty—and about means to address these threats—through speaking engagements, publications, conference calls, webinars, web-based resources, and other means.
• Be able to establish and cultivate relationships with churches across the evangelical and/or denominational spectrum.
• Cultivate a growing knowledge base related to your group concentration area- churches, ministry organizations, or schools.
• Develop various resources related to your group concentration area- churches, ministry organizations, or schools.

More generally, this position also requires you to:

• Conduct legal research.
• Interpret laws, rulings, and regulations for churches and ministries and provide sound legal advice.
• Research and draft general legal resources for churches and ministries.
• Confer with colleagues to establish and verify the basis for legal analysis.
• Participate in recruiting members to join the Church & Ministry Alliance and to inform them on the ministry of ADF, including speaking engagements and other events.
• Advise Allied Attorneys on referred matters within areas of legal competence.
• Network and develop relationships with potential Church & Ministry Alliance members.
• Collaborate with colleagues to accomplish legal advocacy.
• Interact with media regarding cases and issues as requested.
• Network and develop relationships with other non-ADF attorneys and ministry friends.

Other Responsibilities (Non-Essential):

• You will be asked to perform related duties or special projects as assigned.

Skills Needed to Succeed:

Demonstrated proficiency in:

• Strategizing and planning.
• Attention to detail and project management.
• Analytical skills.
• Written communication skills.
• Relational skills.
• Public speaking.

Ability to:

• Work, motivate, and initiate within a team and across teams.
• Work collaboratively toward a common goal.
• Solve problems.
• Travel as needed
• Multitask.

Education and/or experience:

• Bachelor’s degree; J.D.; license to practice law in relevant jurisdiction.
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office, WordPerfect, and Westlaw software.
• At least two years of relevant experience.

To complete your application, please attach a writing sample and copy of your transcripts to your application or if the files are too large, email to hr@adflegal.org.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AN ORGANIZATION WITH A COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS PACKAGE, TOO? 

We have it! Alliance Defending Freedom offers team members a competitive compensation and benefits package that includes major medical insurance, dental care, medical and dependent care reimbursement, paid disability, long-term care insurance, and life insurance. We also offer a 401(k) plan with a generous company match. Work and life balance is important to the well-being of our team members. You will receive paid time off (PTO) that starts accruing from your hire date and 11 paid holidays per year.