Defending Your Religious Freedom

The Alliance Defense Fund deploys a highly professional team of in-house litigators who carefully choose and litigate strategic cases to protect religious freedom, guard the sanctity of life, and preserve marriage and the family. These in-house attorneys work in close cooperation with nearly 2,100 allied attorneys and dozens of allied organizations across the country.

These ADF attorneys, who are some of the most able and skilled constitutional law litigators in the country, are meeting some of the most serious threats to religious freedom head-on. In fact, they regularly have well over 150 litigation cases underway, and consistently win more than three out of every four cases brought to conclusion:

• ADF attorneys won the reversal of a criminal conviction and a related federal lawsuit, striking down an unconstitutional noise ordinance – after a Phoenix pastor was sentenced to jail for ringing the bells of his church.
• ADF attorneys were instrumental in changing unconstitutional policies at a middle school in Pennsylvania after a student was ordered to remove his t-shirt with the pro-life message: “Abortion is not Healthcare.”
• Missouri State University officials settled a lawsuit filed by ADF attorneys after Emily Brooker, a student of the university’s social work program, was threatened with having her degree withheld after she refused to write a letter to Missouri legislators supporting adoption by same-sex couples as an academic assignment for her class.

Going Beyond

In addition to defending your religious freedom in the courtroom, the ADF litigation team preserves religious freedom in numerous other ways.

Training and Mentoring
ADF attorneys train and mentor Christian law students in constitutional law through the Blackstone Legal Fellowship program. During the Phase II internship placement, select Blackstone Interns are paired with ADF attorneys, who help grow and nurture the Interns' knowledge and experience in the issues threatening religious freedom.

Strategic Partnerships
The ADF litigation team works closely with allied organizations – such as family policy councils, Christian ministries, and student campus organizations – to educate Christians about their First Amendment-protected rights and to provide these organizations with resources and strategic direction on cases related to the ADF mission.  The ADF team empowers and equips ADF allied attorneys – many of whom were trained at the ADF Legal Academy – with advanced knowledge, tactics, and the ability to staff complex cases with a large team of attorneys. This strategic approach enables ADF and its allies to successfully defend religious freedom, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

Education
ADF attorneys are among the most knowledgeable commentators about issues threatening religious freedom in the local and national news media. Through such media appearances, these Christ-focused men and women play a crucial role in educating the general public about their God-given, constitutionally protected rights, and they are making a significant impact in the courtroom of public opinion.