JRCLS-OC Statement Updated April 2024

The J. Reuben Clark Law Society (JRCLS) is a diverse, worldwide organization with active chapters throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North, Central, and South America. The JRCLS emphasizes public service, loyalty to the rule of law and to the Constitution, and appreciation for the religious dimensions both in society at large and in a lawyer’s personal life. The JRCLS Mission Statement reflects these values: “We affirm the strength brought to the law by a lawyer’s personal religious conviction. We strive through public service and professional excellence to promote fairness and virtue founded upon the rule of law.”

With over 100 active members, the Orange County chapter (JRCLS-OC) is one of the largest and most dynamic chapters in the JRCLS. Our chapter hosts approximately six CLE luncheons each year, an annual Religion & the Law Symposium, Women-in-Law events, an annual dinner, and community service events. We refer pro bono matters to our members who are interested in such opportunities.

Members of the JRCLS-OC and their guests have recently heard presentations by Professor Carl Hanson (Professor, Brigham Young University Department of Public Health), Tad R. Callister (tax lawyer in Southern California until he was called into full-time service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2005), Honorable Francisco F. Firmat (Mediator, Judge (Ret.) of the OC Superior Court), Blaine Evanson (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP) and Prof. Carl H. Esbeck (University of Missouri School of Law).

Our society is named after an eminent statesman, jurist, and religious leader who embodied the values we espouse. J. Reuben Clark, Jr. served as solicitor of the U.S. State Department and later in the JAG Officers’ Reserve Corps, earning a Distinguished Service Medal in his work for the U.S. Attorney General’s Office during World War II. He also served as Undersecretary of State, publishing the “Clark Memorandum on the Monroe Doctrine,” and then as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. He later served in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Membership in the JRCLS-OC is open to all law students, attorneys, and judges who support our mission statement and share these values. There is no requirement to have attended or graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University or to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All who share our mission are welcome.

Anyone interested in attending one of our luncheons or joining our organization may contact the JRCLS-OC Chapter Chair, Stan Mortensen, at stanmortensen@hotmail.com, or visit our websites at www.jrcls-oc.com and www.jrcls.org.