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Mauck & Baker, located in downtown Chicago, is nationally known for representing churches, religious institutions, businesses and individuals in religious liberties cases. Our monthly newsletter covers topics relating to religious news and legal information relevant to our practice. Please forward our newsletter on to others interested in religious freedom and visit our website for more information about our work. 
 
Why churches must check references

Read Church Law & Tax's guide to 15 common questions about reference checks to education your ministry on things you can do to prevent child abuse. 
Clergy discipline: What may be disclosed to others?  

Read Clergy discipline: What may be disclosed to others to find out best practices for disclosing misconduct by spiritual leaders  by Wagenmaker & Oberly attorney Paul Winters. 
LEGAL
 
Faith-based organizations could face increased discrimination 
April, 2015

 
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a case which will decide whether states can refuse to marry same-sex couples, and also whether states that do not marry same-sex couples must, nevertheless, recognize same-sex marriages contracted in states where such marriages are legal.  The questioning demonstrated both a divided court and a struggle on the part of some justices to consider the consequences of establishing a single, constitutionally-based rule for all states and thus short-circuiting the political process.   Read more from Whitman H. Brisky. 

 
PROFILE
 
A tight-knit community of believers    
April, 2015


 
Brent Amato calls himself a second generation Christian Legal Society member. The founders are the first. Amato would know something about how the generations fall because founder, Burt Erikson, connected him to CLS during law school in the mid-1970's. The group gave Amato guidance and direction as a young believer. CLS hired Amato as the Chicagoland Field Representative in early 2015 to assist in developing the Loop, DuPage, and Northern Illinois CLS groups as well as work with the thriving, stagnant or non-existent CLS groups at Chicago area law schools.  Read more on Brent Amato's new position with CLS.

BEST PRACTICE
Serving on a board as a trustee could make you liable for a lawsuit      
April, 2015


When you serve on a governing board of a church or not-for-profit organization, even when you serve as a volunteer, you still have potential legal liability for your actions or non-actions.  A recent U.S. Federal Court of Appeals decision in a case arising out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, illustrates this risk. Read more from John W. Mauck on what you can do to reduce the risk if you serve on a board as a elder, trustee, director or deacon.