The Federalist Society

What The Federalist Society does

The Federalist Society is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1982 and headquartered in Washington, DC, that serves as the preeminent conservative and originalist legal organization in the United States. It operates a membership-based community across three divisions — Students, Lawyers, and Faculty — supported by over 200 student chapters at U.S. law schools, hundreds of city-based lawyer chapters, 23 specialized Practice Groups covering legal domains such as Administrative Law, Antitrust, Civil Rights, and Religious Liberties, and a tiered governance structure including a Board of Directors and Board of Directors plus a Board of Visitors. Its core functional offering is a digital content platform (fedsoc.org) hosting videos, podcasts, publications, the Federalist Society Review scholarly journal, a Case Archive of Supreme Court and federal court decisions, and event programming including the annual National Lawyers Convention, regional summits, FedSoc Forums, and webinars. The organization is most consequential for its outsized influence over U.S. federal judicial nominations, credited with more than half of current Supreme Court justices and 29 of 36 confirmed circuit court nominees in the Trump second term.

The Federalist Society's revenue model is multi-stream and consistent with 501(c)(3) nonprofit operations: individual and lawyer membership dues (with free student memberships), event and conference registration fees, sales of publications and on-demand CLE (Continuing Legal Education) content, and donations from members and supporters. Pricing for non-student memberships and event fees is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: programming is produced through the chapter network and Practice Group executive committees, and content is distributed across owned channels including YouTube, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, podcast feeds, and the scholarly journal, with no paid acquisition channels evident. Strategic partnerships include a core operational alignment with the Trump Administration and Department of Justice on judicial selection, and recent selective engagement with the American Constitution Society through Harvard Law School's 'From Dissent to Dialogue' series. The organization is led by Sheldon Gilbert as President and CEO and operates with a lean staff of 11-50 employees supported by volunteer chapter leadership.

Name

The Federalist Society

Legal name

The Federalist Society

Website

https://fedsoc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Federalist Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1982 and headquartered in Washington, DC, that serves as the preeminent conservative and originalist legal organization in the United States, operating 200+ student chapters, hundreds of lawyer chapters, 23 practice groups, and a digital content platform for law students, practicing lawyers, and law faculty.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Professional Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK), Education, Research & Academic Congresses (THAHAJAD), Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)

Keywords

• Conservative legal organization
• Legal education programs
• Constitutional law scholarship
• Professional legal networking
• Judicial policy events

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Individual memberships that provide access to events, publications, and chapter networks
2. Event Registration: Fees for conferences, summits, and webinars including the National Lawyers Convention and regional events
3. Publications and Store: Sale of Federalist Society publications, including books and on-demand CLE (Continuing Legal Education) content
4. Donations: Charitable contributions from members and supporters to support the organization's mission and activities

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Federalist Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts conferences, debates, forums, and webinars on law and public policy from an originalist and textualist perspective. It operates a membership-based platform with student chapters at law schools and city-based lawyer chapters, and disseminates scholarship through the Federalist Society Review journal, podcasts (e.g., SCOTUScast), case archives, and other publications.

Product overview

The Federalist Society is a conservative legal organization operating a platform-based structure comprising multiple interconnected content and educational products. The core offerings include the Commentary platform (hosting videos, podcasts, publications, and blog), the Federalist Society Review journal, FedSoc Forums for live discussions, and 23 Practice Groups organized by legal specialty. Supporting products include the Events & Webinars system, Student Division with campus chapters, a Case Archive knowledge base, and special Projects initiatives like the America 250 commemoration and Structural Constitution Initiative. These products work together to advance the organization's mission of promoting conservative legal scholarship and building a pipeline of conservative legal professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Federalist Society Membership Program Individual memberships across Student, Lawyer, and Faculty divisions granting access to chapter programming, events, publications, CLE content, and networking in the conservative legal community.
• Federalist Society Review An annual peer-reviewed legal journal featuring scholarly articles on constitutional law, jurisprudence, and policy analysis from an originalist perspective.
• FedSoc Forums Interactive discussion programs and panel series featuring legal scholars and practitioners addressing current legal and constitutional issues; delivered as live events, webinars, and archived content.
• Practice Groups Twenty-three specialized practice groups organized by legal specialty (e.g., Administrative Law, Antitrust, Civil Rights, Criminal Law, Religious Liberties), each with an executive committee that tracks developments and directs programming.
• Events & Webinars Conference and webinar series including the annual National Lawyers Convention, Supreme Court roundups, regional summits (e.g., Florida Young Lawyers Summit), webinars, and live streams on legal topics.
• Case Archive A searchable knowledge base of Supreme Court and federal court case summaries and analyses organized by case name and year decided.
• On-Demand CLE and Publications Store An online store providing Federalist Society books, publications, and on-demand Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses for practicing attorneys.
• SCOTUScast Podcast Series Podcast series including SCOTUScast and Court Case Briefs providing analysis of Supreme Court decisions and other legal developments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully placed conservative originalist judges on federal and state benches including more than half of current Supreme Court justices
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• American Constitution Society (ACS)minorOthers · 12 March 2026ACS was founded in 2001 as a counterweight to the Federalist Society. While not a formal partnership, the organizations represent opposing poles of the conservative-progressive legal spectrum. Harvard Law School hosted a joint debate between Federalist Society and ACS scholars in the 'From Dissent to Dialogue' series, funded by the President's Building Bridges Fund.
• President's Building Bridges FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded the 'From Dissent to Dialogue' series at Harvard Law School which brought together Federalist Society and American Constitution Society scholars for debate.
• Trump Administration / Department of JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAttorney General Pam Bondi escalated efforts against the ABA by restricting its access to judicial vetting process. The Trump administration has worked closely with Federalist Society to identify and nominate conservative judges.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Enterprise Institute: AEI is a center-right think tank with prominent legal scholars, regular events, and policy publications. It compares to FedSoc as a node in the conservative intellectual ecosystem that shapes judicial and legal-policy discourse, but on a much broader economic/policy canvas.
• American Bar Association: The ABA is the broad incumbent in U.S. legal professional membership, education (CLE), and judicial vetting. It overlaps with FedSoc on legal education, conferences, and bar membership services but serves the entire profession across ideologies rather than a conservative niche.
• Heritage Foundation: Heritage is a major conservative policy institution that publishes legal and constitutional scholarship and works closely with the conservative legal movement, including the judicial nomination ecosystem in which FedSoc is the lead convener. Overlap is strong on policy influence, though Heritage is broader in scope.
• American Law Institute: ALI produces Restatements of Law and Model Codes used across American legal practice and convenes elite legal scholars and practitioners. It overlaps with FedSoc on scholarly legal publishing and elite convening, though ALI is nonpartisan and broader.
• Cato Institute: Cato is a libertarian think tank with a strong constitutional and legal policy program, publishes legal scholarship, and convenes scholars and practitioners. It overlaps with FedSoc on originalist-leaning legal thought and event/conference programming, though it operates as a think tank rather than a membership society.

Emerging players

• Hillsdale College (Hillsdale's Kirby Center / Constitution Curriculum): Hillsdale operates a high-profile constitutional studies program and free online courses on the Constitution that mirror FedSoc's educational mission. Comparable as an emerging alternative node for originalist legal education outside the law-school channel.
• National Association of Scholars: NAS is a conservative-leaning higher-education and academic-freedom organization that engages on legal and constitutional issues. It overlaps with FedSoc on academic advocacy for conservative scholarship in higher education, though with a different primary constituency.
• Claremont Institute (Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence): The Claremont Institute runs the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence and is one of the earliest intellectual nodes of the originalist/conservative legal movement, including amicus work in federal courts. Comparable as a sister institution in the movement, though its primary mode is litigation and publishing rather than chapter-based membership.

Direct peers

• American Constitution Society: The American Constitution Society is the progressive counterpart to the Federalist Society, founded in 2001 specifically as a counterweight. It operates law student chapters, hosts a national convention, and cultivates a network of progressive law professors, lawyers, and judges — directly mirroring FedSoc's structure and GTM.
• Federal Bar Association: The Federal Bar Association is a membership-based legal professional association serving federal practitioners with chapters, CLE programs, and publications. It closely mirrors FedSoc's member-driven chapter model and CLE offering, though it is nonpartisan and tied to federal practice generally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BrownFedSoc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheFederalistSociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/Federalist.Society
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-federalist-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Federalist Society