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Just this week, one of Tom Cruise's ex-girlfriends claimed in Vanity Fair the church forced her to scrub toilets after she illicitly revealed her love for the star.
The church has also launched intellectual property suits to keep its religious documents a secret, and it has waged legal battles throughout the world in the name of religious freedom.
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That finally resulted in a secret 1993 deal with the federal government, the Wall Street Journal reported in 1997, after obtaining a copy of the agreement.
Under the deal, the church won tax exempt status in exchange for paying $12.5 million and dropping thousands of lawsuits against the federal government.
Just who are the lawyers who go to bat for the Church in all these lawsuits? Well, they're pretty tough to track down, but it seems the church has relied on a few trusted lawyers to fight its legal battles.
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Lawyers who represent or represented the church did not respond to requests for comment, with the exception of one attorney: Eric Lieberman of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C.
That year, Yingling wrote to The New York Times objecting to an article revealing the church had bullied the IRS for years until it finally gave the Scientologists tax-exempt status.
The Internal Revenue Service made its decision to issue exemption rulings to the Church of Scientology in 1993 on the merits following the most in-depth examination in the history of the I.R.S., she wrote.
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The tax lawyer still represented the church several years later, Jeffrey Zuckerman, a Washington lawyer who briefly dealt with the Church in a tax dispute, told
In 2004, Zuckerman sued the federal government on behalf of an Orthodox Jewish couple seeking a tax write-off for religious education that was apparently only available to Scientologists under the 1993 deal, Zuckerman said.
My impression at the time was that she was really a key – if not the key – outside lawyer for the Church of Scientology, Zuckerman told
Daniel F.
In 1997, he defended the Scientologists' practice of using private investigators in its dealings with the IRS, according to an article in the New York Times.
''The I.R.S. uses investigators, too, '' said Feffer, who was at the time an attorney with Williams & Connolly, one of Washington's most influential law firms.
''They're called C.I.D. agents'' – for Criminal Investigation Division – ''and the C.I.D. agents put this church under intense scrutiny for years with a mission to destroy the church, he added.
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He officially retired from Williams & Connolly, but a receptionist there said he still comes into the office and has a dedicated assistant.
Wallace Pope, a Clearwater, Fla.-based attorney, has represented the church in a number of cases, according to various news reports and his own firm bio.
His firm, Johnson Pope Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, has a ton of political power in Clearwater, according to Florida lawyer Ken Dandar.
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Like many of the Church of Scientology's lawyers, Helena Kobrin doesn't seem to operate a website, though there is a Wikipedia page dedicated to her firm, Moxin & Kobrin.
Back in 1996, the American Lawyer interviewed Kobrin, describing her as a solo practitioner whose sole client was the Church of Scientology International.
At the time, Kobrin acknowledged to ALM that she knew of no other church that protected its scriptures as trade secrets, as the Church of Scientology has.
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Kendrick Moxon, Helena Kobrin's law partner, is known as one of the Church's top lawyers and is also open about being a Scientologist himself, according to Dandar, who dealt with him in litigation involving the church.
The Church brought Moxon in from Los Angeles to defend the Scientologists in a Florida case involving the death of church member Lisa McPherson that settled in 2004, Florida lawyer Ken Dandar said.
The Church's lawyers on that case used underhanded tactics to try to dig up dirt on Dandar personally, hiring private investigators to interview every client he'd had for over a decade, Dandar says.
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Gary Soter, another California-based attorney, represents the Church and spoke out in its defense during Katie Holmes' swift divorce from Tom Cruise.
Soter denied media speculation that Holmes left Cruise because she feared he wanted her daughter, Suri, to join the Sea Organization, a youth training unit of the Church, the New York Times reported in July.
“No person younger than age 16 is accepted, ” Soter told the Times. “Further, church policy requires the consent of both parents and/or all legal guardians. There are no exceptions.”
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Los Angeles attorney Joseph Yanny represented the Church of Scientology from 1983 to 1987. He earned nearly $2 million in fees from the church, mostly in a case against a former top executive, the LA Times reported back in 1990.
But Yanny left the Church because of tactics it used against opponents, spurring the Scientologists to sue him for inflated bills among other alleged misdeeds, the Times reported.
Like the individual lawyers profiled, Williams & Connolly did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its dealings with the church.
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In July, a federal appeals court in California ruled for the Church of Scientology in a high-profile case brought by a couple accusing the Church of essentially enslaving them.
The lawyer behind that victory? Eric Lieberman of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C., a firm that has a history of defending noted left-wing clients like accused spy Alger Hiss.
I'm not going to say whether the church is a controversial client or not, but this firm is known for taking on controversial clients.Considering that churches are designed for spiritual nourishment and growth, it can be hard to imagine why a church may need an attorney. However, there are many legal aspects involved in religious organizations. While most churches start out small, they grow in size, adding property, buildings, schools and other community services. That means in many ways, churches and pastors can benefit from legal counsel. Here are five reasons why a church needs an attorney.
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Employment When a church is hiring, laying off or terminating employees, they should consider their state’s laws concerning employment matters. Church law attorneys can help draft employment contracts and give advice on different types of employment situations. A church lawyer can advise the church on how employer and employee relationships need to be structured to help avoid issues that could arise in the future. Church lawyers can also assist churches in taking advantage of exceptions in the law that typically only apply to religious organization employers.
Governing Documents Most churches are governed by certain documents that dictate how day to day operations are run. Over time, laws or rules may change, and these documents will need to be reviewed and updated. An attorney for the church can advise church leaders on what to include or remove from these documents to help ensure the smooth running of the church. Church lawyers will also make certain a church’s governing documents work together and do not conflict with each other.
Updating the Church on Current legal Affairs Churches are governed by certain state laws the same as many businesses and other types of organizations. These laws can change, and the churches need to be aware of changes in the laws that may apply to them in order to remain in compliance. That is why churches may need to hire an attorney from a church law firm to keep them abreast of changes in the law.
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Litigation Churches are not exempt from being sued. When a lawsuit is filed against a church, the church’s leadership should contact a lawyer for churches, who has experience in the particular area of law concerning the lawsuit. A skilled attorney who specializes in the applicable area of law will be able to give the church the best representation and the best advice for defending against the lawsuit.
Real Estate Issues A church may need to acquire land for expansion, move to another location or engage in the construction of new church facilities. A church lawyer will go through the different transaction documents to ensure they are in order and the church’s interests are protected. They will also be knowledgeable in the laws regarding property in your state, and can confirm whether the purpose the church wants to use the land for, is allowed in that location.
These are just some of the ways a religious organization can benefit from retaining a lawyer. Unfortunately, many churches only consider employing an attorney when they are facing a legal crisis. A skilled church attorney can do much more than file and defend against lawsuits. Church lawyers can provide valuable advice specific to churches to help avoid legal issues and help the organization run effectively.
Ryan Church, Austin Criminal Attorney • Dunham & Jones
To find out more, contact Anthony | Kennedy, PLLC, the Church Law Group. We are here for you. Contact us today and ask about our services
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