Lawyers for Jesus

Tom Ciesielka is the founder and president of TC Public Relations, a company that specializes in crisis communications, media relations, and social media strategy for churches, ministries, lawyers, and nonprofit organizations.

Reed Smith is Director of Litigation for the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom where he helps to defend and advance religious liberty. Recently, Reed discussed the problems with the American Bar Association’s newly adopted and controversial rule on behalf of the Christian Legal Society.

Jeanette Ward is a conservative candidate running for Illinois Senate in District 25 who has promised to tenaciously defend life, liberty, sound fiscal policy, parental freedom, and the 2nd Amendment. Previously, Jeanette was a member of school board U-46 for four years, the largest elected school board in Illinois.

Jerry Evans is a Christian entrepreneur, small business owner, and family man who is running for Congress in Illinois’ 14th District. Jerry has invested first-hand in his community, owning a music school in Wheaton where he teaches students to play a variety of instruments.

Reed Smith is Director of Litigation for the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom where he helps to defend and advance religious liberty. Prior to joining CLS, Reed worked as legal counsel at First Liberty Institute where he defended the Constitutional rights of student groups, churches, other attorneys, and more. Reed also practiced commercial and intellectual property litigation at a chambers-rated litigation boutique in Houston, Texas and clerked for the...

Jeanne Ives served three terms as an Illinois State Representative and demonstrated not only a willingness to lead on difficult issues, but also an insightful understanding of policy. In 2018 she ran a close race against Illinois’ incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and today she is running for Congress in Illinois’ Sixth District.

Bruce Strom is the Founder and CEO of Administer Justice, one of the largest legal ministries in America. Administer Justice actively engages Christ Followers to serve the legal and spiritual needs of the poor by establishing Gospel Justice Centers across the country.

Wesley Covert is a partner at the law firm of Laner Muchin who focuses his practice on all aspects of employee benefits law. As a Christian attorney with a firm specializing in labor law, Wesley can speak to religious accommodations and the rights of employers when it comes to religious expression in the workplace.

Drew Hutcheson and Brad Taunton are the founders of Vigilant Ministry Partners. Vigilant Ministry Partners is a company on a mission to help prevent children from sexual abuse in the church and other settings with extensive background checks. They represent the interests of local churches, mission agencies, schools, and nonprofits.

Natt Gantt is Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs as well as the Co-Director of the Center for Ethical Formation and Legal Education Reform at Regent University School of Law. Natt also regularly writes about professional identity, ethics, and other areas of significance to lawyers and law students.

Alex Lehan is a student at the University of Illinois and a pro-life leader with the organization WeDignify. The mission of WeDignify is to equip, educate, and empower college students to lead pro-life groups on campus.

Denise Harley serves as legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom where she is a member of the Center for Life. In this role, Denise focuses her litigation efforts on defending the First Amendment freedoms of pro-life healthcare professionals and pregnancy resource centers.

Michael Medved is a nationally syndicated radio host, bestselling author, political commentator, and film critic. His most recent book, God’s Hand on America: Divine Providence in the Modern Era, asks the question, “has God withdrawn his special blessing from the United States?”

Steve Bretsen is an Associate Professor who holds the Volkman Chair of Business and Law at Wheaton College. Steve is also Wheaton College’s Prelaw Advisor, helping guide the paths of students interested in attending law school after graduation. Previously, Steve was an in-house attorney and a director of mergers and acquisitions for several Fortune 500 companies.

Peter Breen is a constitutional attorney, former Illinois State Representative, and Founder of Fair Maps Illinois, a grassroots effort to amend the Illinois Constitution and break the hold of corrupt gerrymandering. With Fair Maps Illinois, voters can guarantee maps that allow them to elect legislators that represent their community and their interests, not operatives chosen by a disconnected and broken political Machine.

Michael Allen is Lead Pastor of Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago, whose mission is to grow and develop servant-followers of Jesus who will impact our world. Uptown Baptist Church recently partnered with Together Chicago, which Pastor Allen Co-Founded, and the Gospel Justice Initiative to open a Gospel Justice Center to the Uptown Community.

Ken Liu is Director of Christian Legal Aid with the Christian Legal Society. In this role, Ken has been able to help start and grow Christian legal aid programs around the country. Through his involvement with legal aid, Ken has been able to provide legal and spiritual counseling to many low-income clients.

Eric Scheidler became a pro-life activist at only six years old when his parents, Joe and Ann Scheidler, got involved in the pro-life movement shortly before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling. Currently, Eric is Executive Director of Pro-Life Action League, an organization on the frontlines of the battle for unborn life.

Ray Hacke is an attorney at the Pacific Justice Institute, a non-profit legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. Prior to becoming an attorney, Ray was an award-winning sportswriter, but felt compelled to switch careers when he saw that religious liberty was under attack.

Hesham Shehab used to be a devout Muslim in Lebanon and considered Christians to be his enemies. Now, Hesham is the pastor of Salam Christian Fellowship, a ministry dedicated to sharing the Gospel with Muslim and Middle Eastern immigrants in the Chicagoland area.