First Liberty

What First Liberty does

First Liberty Institute, headquartered at 2001 W. Plano Parkway in Plano, Texas, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public interest law firm founded in 1972 and self-described as the largest legal organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom. The organization provides free pro bono legal representation to individuals, houses of worship, public school personnel, military members, and government officials whose religious liberty, free speech, parental rights, or conscience protections have been threatened or violated. Case intake is conducted through a 'Get Legal Help' request form on firstliberty.org, with the legal team selecting matters with strong constitutional merit and precedent-setting potential.

The organization's core product is constitutional litigation, with active casework spanning federal trial courts, circuit courts of appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court. First Liberty has argued and won five landmark Supreme Court cases, including Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (6-3, 2022) and Chiles v. Salazar (8-1, addressing counseling rights), and routinely co-counsels with elite appellate firms such as Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Mitchell Law PLLC on high-stakes matters. Beyond litigation, First Liberty operates a multi-channel content and program ecosystem: the First Liberty Live! multimedia platform and podcast, The Founders Trilogy children's book series, the F3 (Future of Faith and Freedom) youth leadership initiative, the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy scholarly program, and Restoring Faith in America.

The organization's revenue model is donation-based, with no fees charged to legal clients. Funding flows through one-time gifts, a monthly giving program, the Wall of Champions tiered donor recognition program tied to specific Supreme Court victories, and legacy giving. The organization is led by Founder, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford, supported by EVP/COO/CFO David Holmes and EVP/Chief Legal Officer Jeff Mateer, with a roughly 51-100 person staff focused on constitutional litigation, communications, and donor development.

Name

First Liberty

Legal name

First Liberty Institute

Website

https://firstliberty.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

First Liberty Institute is a Plano, Texas-based 501(c)(3) public interest law firm and the largest U.S. legal organization dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom, providing free pro bono constitutional litigation to individuals, faith-based groups, and public officials nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Interest Legal Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Legal Services (5411), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM), Legal Literacy & Public Legal Education (Know Your Rights) (EDAAAFAI)

Keywords

• Religious liberty litigation
• Public interest legal services
• First amendment advocacy
• Pro bono legal defense
• Constitutional rights representation

Headquarters

HQ city

Plano

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, Others, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: First Liberty Institute operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. The organization funds its operations entirely through donations from supporters. Their website features multiple donation options including one-time gifts, monthly giving, and the Wall of Champions giving program. Policy states that charitable gifts given toward a specific legal case are applied to that case, with excess funds used to defend other constitutional rights cases.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

First Liberty Institute provides free pro bono legal representation to individuals and organizations whose religious freedom rights have been threatened or violated, litigating cases through U.S. trial courts, federal appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The organization also disseminates educational content through children's books and multimedia programming, and accepts engagements via its web-based case intake form with each request evaluated for constitutional merit.

Product overview

First Liberty Institute is America's largest nonprofit legal organization dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom. The organization offers legal defense services for individuals and organizations facing religious liberty violations, operating as a nationwide religious liberty law firm. Beyond core legal services, First Liberty provides educational content through its Founders Trilogy children's books and the First Liberty Live! multimedia platform. The organization runs several programs including F3 (Future of Faith and Freedom), the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, and Restoring Faith in America. First Liberty has achieved five landmark victories at the U.S. Supreme Court, setting precedent-setting cases that protect religious freedom for all Americans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legal Defense Services for Religious Liberty Free pro bono legal representation and advocacy for individuals and organizations whose religious freedom rights have been threatened or violated, including litigation at trial, appellate, and U.S. Supreme Court levels. Cases are evaluated for constitutional merit and the potential to set precedent.
• The Founders Trilogy Children's Books A collection of three animated children's books—'Our First Liberty,' 'Founded on Freedom,' and 'No Better Letter'—that teach children about American founding principles and religious freedom through illustrated stories with full music scores. Sold directly through First Liberty's online store.
• First Liberty Live! A multimedia platform featuring expert commentary, video content, and podcasts covering religious liberty issues, case updates, and cultural analysis through multiple formats including video series and The Case for Liberty podcast.

Quantifiable outcome

• Won 5 landmark Supreme Court cases protecting religious freedom
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Mitchell Law PLLCcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 June 2026Law firm led by Jonathan F. Mitchell co-represented Judge Dianne Hensley in case against State Commission on Judicial Conduct, winning $640,000 award.
• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 29 April 2026Law firm co-representing LifeWise Academy in federal lawsuit against Everett Public Schools regarding unconstitutional restrictions on release-time Bible program.
• Sturgill TurnersupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 25 March 2026Law firm co-representing Paige Rogers, the Kentucky barista fired for sharing her faith, along with First Liberty Institute.
• Hacker Stephens LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 12 December 2025Law firm partnered with First Liberty to file amicus brief on behalf of 46 members of Congress supporting Ten Commandments displays in Texas and Louisiana public schools.
• Kirkland & Ellis LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 27 June 2022Top law firm led by Supreme Court advocate Paul Clement that represented Coach Joe Kennedy alongside First Liberty in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, achieving 6-3 Supreme Court victory.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Thomas More Society: National public-interest law firm defending religious freedom, parental rights, and free speech — closely comparable in mission, pro bono model, and courtroom advocacy focus.
• National Legal Foundation: Public-interest law firm with a religious-liberty and constitutional-rights focus, frequently filing amicus briefs in religious-freedom cases alongside First Liberty's partners.
• Becket Fund for Religious Liberty: Nonprofit public-interest law firm dedicated to religious liberty, with a similarly high SCOTUS win rate and analogous pro bono representation model for individuals and religious institutions.
• Liberty Counsel: Nonprofit litigation and education organization whose religious-liberty, free-speech, and parental-rights docket overlaps heavily with First Liberty's mission and case mix.
• Pacific Justice Institute: Nonprofit legal defense organization with a religious-liberty focus and a comparable pro bono representation model, though smaller in scale and with a stronger regional concentration.
• Alliance Defending Freedom: Largest direct competitor and the most-comparable peer — a national legal advocacy organization also focused on religious liberty, parental rights, and Free Exercise litigation, with a deep SCOTUS practice and a similarly broad donor base.
• Americans United for Separation of Church and State: Adversarial counterpart operating the same litigation-and-advocacy playbook on the opposite side of church-state cases; useful structural and funding-model comparable despite opposing mission.
• American Center for Law and Justice: National constitutional litigation organization with a religious-liberty and free-speech focus, comparable in mission, donor-driven funding model, and high-profile Supreme Court advocacy practice.

Broad incumbents

• NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Larger, broader civil-rights public-interest law firm; useful comparable for scale of national litigation infrastructure, donor-funded model, and SCOTUS advocacy capacity, though mission differs.

Emerging players

• ADF International: International arm of Alliance Defending Freedom, focused on religious-liberty litigation before foreign and international tribunals — overlapping mission and donor base with First Liberty's domestic practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/1stLiberty
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/FirstLibertyInstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/firstlibertyinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firstliberty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Liberty