Liberty Law students attend Christian Legal Society national conference

A group of Liberty University School of Law faculty, staff, and students attended the Christian Legal Society’s annual conference Oct. 9-12 in New Orleans.

The Christian Legal Society 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. Liberty Law has a student chapter of CLS, which seeks to foster community, witness, and service through on-campus events and trips. The annual CLS conference brings together Christian law professionals from all over the country.

Sessions included a Christian Legal Aid Summit and workshops focusing on a variety of pressing legal topics, such as religious liberty, the implications of AI in law, using law as ministry, and much more.

Over a dozen Liberty Law students attended the conference, including leadership from Liberty Law’s CLS student chapter.

“The CLS conference showed me an entire world of Christians engaged in the practice of law as a ministry for the good of others,” said 3L (third-year student) Nathaniel Brotzman, president of Liberty Law’s CLS chapter. “It helped me connect with people I would never have met otherwise with whom I share a commitment to honor Christ in the legal profession. The best way to describe it is what our law school does on a daily basis focused into a few days.”

School of Law Dean Timothy Todd and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development Rodney Chrisman also presented at the conference. Todd spoke during the Christian Legal Scholar’s Symposium, an additional part of the conference that brings together scholars to focus on a particular topic. The title of this year’s Scholar’s Symposium was “Why Work? A Conversation on Vocation and Law.” Along with other scholars, Todd discussed how we glorify God through work and by doing work with a God-honoring purpose. Later in the conference, Chrisman presented in a session on “Becoming a Law Professor: Legal Education as Christian Ministry,” which focused on using legal education as a ministry and calling.

“Liberty Law is blessed by its collaboration with Christian Legal Society,” Todd said after the conference. “Through opportunities like this, Liberty Law has a unique and impactful ability to help Christian lawyers all over the country to integrate their faith and to flourish in their practices and professional lives. As well, initiatives like this help us fulfill Liberty Law’s two main goals: to grow our students’ faith in the Lord and to train excellent lawyers.”

2L Randall Shirey said the conference was a meaningful opportunity to connect with fellow believers.

“The experience challenged me to deepen my faith-based convictions, reinforcing the Christ-centered foundation that Liberty Law instills in its students. This strengthened my ability to advance His kingdom through the ministry of legal practice with greater purpose and efficiency,” he said. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to attend the CLS conference, which not only enriched my faith but also equipped me to integrate it more intentionally into my legal education.”

The students’ cost of attending the conference was sponsored by Liberty Law.