Jordan Lorence serves as senior counsel and director of strategic engagement with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he plays a key role with the Strategic Relations & Training Team. His work has encompassed a broad range of litigation, with a primary focus on religious liberty, free speech, student privacy, conscience rights of creative professionals, and the First Amendment freedoms of public university students and professors.
Lorence argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in the precedent-setting Southworth v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System case in 1999, challenging the university’s requirement that forced unwilling students to contribute to campus activist groups. He led the challenge to New York City’s ban on private worship services after hours in vacant public school buildings in the long-running Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York case. Lorence also defended the right of conscience in Elane Photography v. Willock at the New Mexico Supreme Court.
Lorence has made media appearances on television and radio shows including Fox News, NBC’s Today Show, and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. His commentary has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Times, The Hill, and National Review.
Before officially joining the organization in 2001, Lorence was a productive allied attorney for many years, actively involved in significant litigation for ADF. He has also worked for the Home School Legal Defense Association, Concerned Women for America, and the American Center for Law and Justice. Lorence earned a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and received a B.A. in journalism from Stanford University. He is admitted to the bar in Minnesota, Virginia, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Supreme Court, and multiple federal appellate and district courts.
CANCELLED: Nuns, Florists, and Foster Kids: Religious Liberty Cases at the U.S. Supreme Court
Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter
-200 W. College Avenue (2nd Floor Conference Room)
Tallahassee, FL 32301
School Choice vs. State Blaine Amendments: Separation of Church and State or Anti-Catholic Bigotry?
California-Berkeley Student Chapter
Berkeley Law, Room 240225 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94720
Fingers Cross-ed? The Establishment Clause after American Legion
Orange County Lawyers Chapter
2040 Main St2040 Main Street, First Floor Conference Room
Irvine, CA 92614
Social Justice: A Religious Liberty Perspective
La Verne Student Chapter
La Verne College of Law320 E D St
Ontario, CA 91761
A Prayer For Relief: What You Need to Know About Advocating for Religious Liberty
Pepperdine Student Chapter
Pepperdine University School of Law24255 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu, CA 90263
First Amendment Controversies: Free Speech and Religious Liberty
Inaugural Wisconsin Lawyers Chapters Conference
This panel debated perspectives from both sides of two important national discussions: the debate over...
First Amendment Controversies: Free Speech and Religious Liberty
Inaugural Wisconsin Lawyers Chapters Conference
This panel debated perspectives from both sides of two important national discussions: the debate over...
NLC: Religious Liberty Session
Attending the religious liberty session reminds me why so many people come each year to...
Holt v. Hobbs - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
SCOTUScast 2-4-15 featuring Jordan Lorence
On January 20, 2015, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Holt v. Hobbs, which...
Holt v. Hobbs - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
SCOTUScast 10-9-14 featuring Jordan Lorence
On October 7, 2014, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in , which concerns whether the...