Christian Legal Society (CLS) was incorporated in Illinois in 1961 as a not for profit, tax-exempt 501(c) (3) religious organization. CLS is composed of more than 3400 members in over 1,100 cities (including all the nation's major cities), in 50 states and 10 foreign countries. There are more than 90 local attorney chapters and 165 law student chapters.
The Purpose of CLS: (1) "To proclaim Jesus as Lord through all that we do in the field of law and other disciplines; (2) To provide a means of society, fellowship and nurture among Christian lawyers; (3) To encourage Christian lawyers to view law as ministry; (4) To clarify and promote the concept of the Christian lawyer and to help Christian lawyers integrate their faith with their professional lives; (5) To mobilize, at the national and local levels, the resources needed to promote justice, religious liberty, the sanctity of human life and biblical conflict reconciliation; (6) To encourage, disciple and aid Christian students in preparing for the legal profession; (7) To provide a forum for the discussion of problems and opportunities relating to Christianity and the law; (8)To cooperate with bar associations and other organizations in asserting and maintaining high standards of legal ethics; and, (9) To encourage lawyers to furnish legal services to the poor and needy, and grant special consideration to the legal needs of churches and other charitable organizations."
The Mission of CLS: - In response to Jesus' visionary command to lawyers " to do justice with the love of God " (Luke 11:42) and never forget the " weightier matters of the law: doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with God " (Matt. 23:23), the CLS mission is "To be the national grassroots network of lawyers and law students, committed to proclaiming, loving and serving Jesus Christ, through all we do and say in the practice of law, and advocating biblical conflict reconciliation, public justice, religious freedom and the sanctity of human life." The Tulane chapter of CLS was started in 2003. Although CLS is a fairly young organization on Tulane's campus, it has been very active. Past events include weekly bible studies and prayer meetings, community service projects, social gatherings, speakers, round table discussions, meetings with the New Orleans CLS attorney chapter, and the annual spring banquet.
