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|Location = [[Washington, D.C.]]
|Location = [[Washington, D.C.]]
|Type = [[501(c)(3)]]
|Type = [[501(c)(3)]]
|Affiliation =
|Top official = Sheldon Gilbert, President and CEO
|Top official = Steven Calabresi, Chairman
|Founder(s) = Steven Calabresi, David McIntosh, and Lee Liberman Otis
|Founder(s) =  
|Year founded = 1982
|Year founded = 1982
|Number of employees =  
|Number of employees =
|Website = http://www.fed-soc.org/
|Website = http://www.fed-soc.org/
|Policies =
}}
|FY 2016 budget =
|FY 2015 budget =
|FY 2014 budget =
|FY 2013 budget =
|FY 2012 budget =
|FY 2011 budget =
|FY 2010 budget =
|Member =
|Member collapse = yes
|Connections = }} {{tnr}}
'''The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies''' (The Federalist Society) is a [[501(c)(3)]] [[nonprofit organization]] based in [[Washington, D.C.]], that aims to challenge what the group considers to be "a form of orthodox liberal ideology which advocates a centralized and uniform society" in the legal profession. As of December 2016, the group reported a membership of over 10,000 law students and 60,000 legal professionals across the United States and around the world.<ref name=our>[http://www.fed-soc.org/aboutus/page/our-background ''The Federalist Society'', "Our Background," accessed December 8, 2016]</ref>


==Mission==
'''The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies''' (The Federalist Society) is a [[501(c)(3)]] [[nonprofit organization]] based in [[Washington, D.C.]] As of December 2025, it described itself as a "group of conservatives and libertarians dedicated to reforming the current legal order."<ref name=about>[https://fedsoc.org/about-us ''The Federalist Society'', "About Us," accessed December 21, 2025]</ref> The society said it was founded on "the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."<ref name=about/> The society reported a membership of more than 10,000 law students and 65,000 legal professionals.<ref name=about/>
According to the organization's filings with the [[Internal Revenue Service]], The Federalist Society has the following mission statement: {{Quote|The Federalist Society exists to promote the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, the separation of powers is central to our constitution, and that it is the duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.<ref name=Guide>[http://www2.guidestar.org/profile/36-3235550 ''GuideStar'', "Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy'', accessed December 8, 2016]</ref>}}


<!--==Mission==
According to the organization's filings with the [[Internal Revenue Service]], The Federalist Society has the following mission statement: {{Quote|The Federalist Society exists to promote the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, the separation of powers is central to our constitution, and that it is the duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.<ref name=Guide>[http://www2.guidestar.org/profile/36-3235550 ''GuideStar'', "Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy'', accessed December 8, 2016]</ref>}}-->
==Background==
==Background==
The Federalist Society was founded in 1982 by a group of students from Yale Law School, the University of Chicago Law School, and Harvard Law School. According to the group's website, The Federalist Society seeks to support "the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be." The organization endeavors to achieve its mission through the sponsorship of forums for its members to debate their views on legal  principles.<ref name=Our/><ref name=Fed>[https://www.amazon.com/Federalist-Society-Conservatives-Took-Liberals/dp/082651877X Avery, Michael and McLaughlin, Danielle. (2013). ''The Federalist Society: How Conservatives Took the Law Back from the Liberals'', Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. (pages 1-2)]</ref>
The Federalist Society was founded in 1982. According to the society's website in December 2025, "Law schools and the legal profession are currently strongly dominated by a form of orthodox liberal ideology which advocates a centralized and uniform society."<ref name=about/> Through the sponsorship of lectures, debates, conferences, and networking opportunities, the society said it sought to reform the legal system to "place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law."<ref name=about/><ref name=yale>[https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2024/11/04/how-the-federalist-society-shaped-americas-judiciary/ ''Yale News'', "How the Federalist Society shaped America’s judiciary," November 4, 2024]</ref>  


As of December 2016, The Federalist Society was organized into three main divisions. The organization's Student Division consisted of more than 10,000 law students. The division maintained chapters at each of the 196 ABA-accredited law schools across the country in addition to 24 chapters at international law schools, ABA-accredited satellite campuses, non-accredited law schools, and undergraduate campuses. Membership in the group's Lawyers Division, founded in 1996, exceeded 60,000 legal professionals and interested individuals with chapters in 80 cities across the United States. The organization's Faculty Division, established in 1999, aims to bring together law professors and academics "to help encourage constructive academic discourse."<ref name=Our/><ref>[http://www.fed-soc.org/members/type/lawyer ''The Federalist Society'', "Lawyers Division," accessed December 8, 2016]</ref>
As of December 2025, The Federalist Society was organized into three main divisions. The organization's Student Division consisted of more than 10,000 law students. The division maintained chapters at each of the 204 ABA-accredited law schools across the country in addition to 10 chapters at ABA-accredited satellite campuses, non-accredited law schools, and undergraduate campuses. Membership in the society's Lawyers Division, established in 1986, exceeded 65,000 legal professionals and interested individuals with chapters in 90 cities across the United States. The society established its Faculty Division in 1999 "to help encourage constructive academic discourse."<ref name=about/><ref name=yale/>


==Work==
==Leadership==
The Federalist Society's activities are concentrated in four primary areas:
As of December 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at The Federalist Society:<ref>[https://fedsoc.org/staff ''The Federalist Society'', "Staff," accessed December 21, 2025]</ref>
*'''Student activities'''<br>The group maintains chapters at law schools throughout the country and organizes more than 1,000 annual student events, including "lectures and debates featuring conservative and libertarian legal thought."<ref name=Form/>
*'''Sheldon Gilbert''', president and CEO
*'''Practice activities'''<br>The Federalist Society organizes practice groups to connect its professional members and facilitate the exchange of ideas. The practice groups coordinate member programs, draft articles, and put together panelist groups for the annual National Lawyers Convention.<ref name=Form/><ref>[http://www.fed-soc.org/practice_groups/ ''The Federalist Society'', "Practice Groups," accessed December 8, 2016]</ref>
*'''Lee Liberman Otis''', executive vice president and senior counselor to the president
*'''Faculty activities'''<br>The organization's Faculty Division aims to bring together "conservative and libertarian faculty" to promote scholarly discussion. The group also holds an annual Faculty Division conference.<ref name=Form/><ref>[http://www.fed-soc.org/events/detail/19th-annual-faculty-conference ''The Federalist Society'', "19th Annual Faculty Conference," accessed December 8, 2016]</ref>
*'''Dean Reuter''', executive vice president
*'''External affairs'''<br>The Federalist Society launched the State Courts Project, now known as external affairs, in 2006 in order to spark debate with respect to state supreme courts and facilitate public knowledge of the judicial selection process.<ref name=Form/>
==Work and activities==
As of December 2025, The Federalist Society's activities were concentrated in four primary areas:
*'''Student activities'''<br>The society maintained chapters at law schools throughout the country and organized annual student events, including lectures and debates.<ref name=about/><ref>[https://fedsoc.org/divisions/student ''The Federalist Society'', "Student Division," accessed December 22, 2025]</ref>
*'''Practice activities'''<br>The Federalist Society organized Practice Groups by area of law to connect its professional members and facilitate the exchange of ideas. The Practice Groups "track major developments in their area of expertise and ... organize events including FedSoc Forums, in person programs, and panels for several single day conferences like the annual Executive Branch Review Conference."<ref>[https://fedsoc.org/practice-groups ''The Federalist Society'', "Practice Groups," accessed December 22, 2025]</ref>
*'''Faculty activities'''<br>The society's Faculty Division "seeks to facilitate dialogue among law professors interested in limited government, the separation of powers, Constitutional theory, the original understanding of the Constitution, and the importance of property rights and free markets."<ref>[https://fedsoc.org/divisions/faculty ''The Federalist Society'', "Faculty Division," accessed December 22, 2025]</ref>
*'''Lawyer activities'''<br>The society's Lawyers Division included chapters that "organize over 400 programs and meetings, drawing a combined audience of over 25,000. ... The chapters host speeches, panel discussions and debates on current topics at the local and national level, and help members find opportunities to become actively involved in the policy and public interest worlds."<ref>[https://fedsoc.org/divisions/lawyers ''The Federalist Society'', "Lawyers Division," accessed December 22, 2025]</ref>


In addition to the group's programs and conferences, The Federalist Society hosts the annual National Lawyers Convention in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>[http://www.fed-soc.org/events/page/national-lawyers-conventions ''The Federalist Society'', "National Lawyers Convention," accessed December 8, 2016]</ref>
In addition to the society's programs and conferences, The Federalist Society hosted the annual National Lawyers Convention in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>[https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2026-national-lawyers-convention ''The Federalist Society'', "2026 National Lawyers Convention," accessed December 22, 2025]</ref>


===Judicial selection===
===Judicial selection===
The Federalist Society has played a role in the judicial selection process for [[Republican]] presidents since the administration of former President [[Ronald Reagan]] [[Republican|(R)]]. Reagan nominated [[Robert Bork]] and [[Antonin Scalia]], both faculty advisors for The Federalist Society, to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] and the [[United States Supreme Court]]. Lee Liberman Otis, a co-founder of the society, later led the judicial selection efforts of the White House Counsel's office under former President [[George H. W. Bush]] [[Republican|(R)]].<ref name=slate>[http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/01/how_the_federalist_society_became_the_de_facto_selector_of_republican_supreme.html ''Slate'', "Federalist Court," January 31, 2017]</ref>
As of December 2025, six of nine [[United States Supreme Court]] justices were either members or affiliates of The Federalist Society.<ref name=yale/>
 
The Federalist Society has played a role in the judicial selection process for Republican presidents since the administration of former President [[Ronald Reagan]] (R). Reagan nominated [[Robert Bork]] and [[Antonin Scalia]], both faculty advisors for The Federalist Society, to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] and the U.S. Supreme Court. Lee Liberman Otis, a co-founder of the society, later led the judicial selection efforts of the White House Counsel's office under former President [[George H. W. Bush]] (R).<ref name=slate>[http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/01/how_the_federalist_society_became_the_de_facto_selector_of_republican_supreme.html ''Slate'', "Federalist Court," January 31, 2017]</ref>


Former President [[George W. Bush]] [[Republican|(R)]] took The Federalist Society's recommendations into consideration before nominating federal judges. His nominees to the Supreme Court, [[John Roberts]] and [[Samuel Alito]], both had relationships with the society. In addition, roughly half of Bush's appointees to federal courts of appeals were society members. The Federalist Society also helped to assemble {{Greener
Former President [[George W. Bush]] (R) took The Federalist Society's recommendations into consideration before nominating federal judges. His nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, [[John Roberts (Supreme Court)|John Roberts]] and [[Samuel Alito]], both had relationships with the society. In addition, roughly half of Bush's appointees to federal courts of appeals were society members.<ref name=slate/>  
| start=1/20/2017 12:00pm CST
| before= President-elect
| after= President
}} [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Republican|(R)]] list of 21 potential Supreme Court nominees. His eventual pick, [[Neil Gorsuch]], is a member of the society.<ref name=slate/><ref>[https://www.thenation.com/article/movin-federalist-society/ ''The Nation'', " Movin’ on Up with the Federalist Society," October 1, 2001]</ref><ref>[http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/trumps-potential-court-picks-featured-d-c-confab ''Roll Call'', "Trump’s Potential Court Picks Featured at D.C. Confab," November 18, 2016]</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/18/politics/donald-trump-supreme-court-nominees/ ''CNN'', "Trump unveils his potential Supreme Court nominees," May 18, 2016]</ref>


==Leadership==
As of December 2025, President [[Donald Trump]] (R) had appointed three society-affiliated justices to the U.S. Supreme Court: [[Neil Gorsuch]], [[Brett Kavanaugh]], and [[Amy Coney Barrett]].<ref name=yale/>
As of December 2016, the following individuals held leadership positions with The Federalist Society:<ref>[http://www.fed-soc.org/aboutus/page/staff ''The Federalist Society'', "Staff," accessed December 9, 2016]</ref><ref>[http://www.fed-soc.org/aboutus/page/board-of-directors ''The Federalist Society'', "Board of directors," accessed December 9, 2016]</ref>
*'''Steven Calabresi''', ''Chairman''
*'''David McIntosh''', ''Vice chairman''
*'''Gary Lawson''', ''Secretary''
*'''Brent Hatch''', ''Treasurer''
*'''Eugene Meyer''', ''President''
*'''Leonard Leo''', ''Executive vice president''
*'''Lee Otis''', ''Senior vice president''


==Finances==
==Finances==
The Federalist Society {{501(c)(3)}}
The following is a breakdown of The Federalist Society's revenues and expenses from 2015 to 2021. The information comes from the [https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/ Internal Revenue Service].
 
<datatable caption="The Federalist Society financial data 2015-2021">
According to the organization's website, The Federalist Society receives 90 percent of its funding through direct contributions from individuals and foundations. The remaining 10 percent is received through corporate donations. The organization does not receive funding from political parties or government entities.<ref>[http://www.fed-soc.org/aboutus/page/frequently-asked-questions ''The Federalist Society'', "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed December 9, 2016]</ref>
! align="left"|Year
 
! Revenue 
The following table displays total revenue and expenses for The Federalist Society from 2011 to 2014 according to the [[Internal Revenue Service]]:<ref name=Guide/>
! Expenses
{| class="wikitable" margin-right: 3px; margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom:3px; margin-left:3px; style="background:none; width:600px;"
|-
! colspan="3" align="center" style="background-color:#008000; color: white;" | Annual revenue and expenses for The Federalist Society, 2011-2014
| 2015||$18.2 million ||$15.1 million
|-
| 2016 ||$26.6 million||$15.9 million
|-
|-
! style="background-color:#444; color: white;" | Tax year
| 2017 ||$20.4 million ||$18.2 million
! style="background-color:#444; color: white;" | Total revenue
! style="background-color:#444; color: white;" | Total expenses
|-
|-
|2014||$18,197,898 ||$15,077,690
| 2018 ||$22.7 million ||$21.7 million
|-
|-
|2013||$13,823,780 ||$13,935,875
| 2019 ||$23.3 million ||$23.2 million
|-
|-
|2012||$13,721,279 ||$13,356,819
| 2020 ||$20.4 million ||$19.6 million
|-
|-
|2011||$13,619,720 ||$13,128,249
| 2021 ||$18.9 million ||$17.7 million
|}
</datatable>


==Media==
==See also==
{|
* [[What is an influencer|What is an influencer?]]
|----- valign="right"
|
{{#ev:youtube|6j6zjBsUIpM|300||What is The Federalist Society? October 6, 2014}}
|}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.fed-soc.org/ The Federalist Society website]
* [http://www.fed-soc.org/ The Federalist Society website]
*[https://www.facebook.com/pg/Federalist.Society/about/?ref=page_internal The Federalist Society on Facebook]
*[https://www.facebook.com/pg/Federalist.Society/about/?ref=page_internal The Federalist Society on Facebook]
*[https://twitter.com/FedSoc The Federalist Society on Twitter]
*[https://twitter.com/FedSoc The Federalist Society on X]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-federalist-society The Federalist Society on LinkedIn]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-federalist-society The Federalist Society on LinkedIn]
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/TheFederalistSociety The Federalist Society on YouTube]
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/TheFederalistSociety The Federalist Society on YouTube]

Latest revision as of 06:41, 22 December 2025

The Federalist Society
Federalist society.png
Basic facts
Location:Washington, D.C.
Type:501(c)(3)
Top official:Sheldon Gilbert, President and CEO
Founder(s):Steven Calabresi, David McIntosh, and Lee Liberman Otis
Year founded:1982
Website:Official website

The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (The Federalist Society) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. As of December 2025, it described itself as a "group of conservatives and libertarians dedicated to reforming the current legal order."[1] The society said it was founded on "the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."[1] The society reported a membership of more than 10,000 law students and 65,000 legal professionals.[1]

Background

The Federalist Society was founded in 1982. According to the society's website in December 2025, "Law schools and the legal profession are currently strongly dominated by a form of orthodox liberal ideology which advocates a centralized and uniform society."[1] Through the sponsorship of lectures, debates, conferences, and networking opportunities, the society said it sought to reform the legal system to "place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law."[1][2]

As of December 2025, The Federalist Society was organized into three main divisions. The organization's Student Division consisted of more than 10,000 law students. The division maintained chapters at each of the 204 ABA-accredited law schools across the country in addition to 10 chapters at ABA-accredited satellite campuses, non-accredited law schools, and undergraduate campuses. Membership in the society's Lawyers Division, established in 1986, exceeded 65,000 legal professionals and interested individuals with chapters in 90 cities across the United States. The society established its Faculty Division in 1999 "to help encourage constructive academic discourse."[1][2]

Leadership

As of December 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at The Federalist Society:[3]

  • Sheldon Gilbert, president and CEO
  • Lee Liberman Otis, executive vice president and senior counselor to the president
  • Dean Reuter, executive vice president

Work and activities

As of December 2025, The Federalist Society's activities were concentrated in four primary areas:

  • Student activities
    The society maintained chapters at law schools throughout the country and organized annual student events, including lectures and debates.[1][4]
  • Practice activities
    The Federalist Society organized Practice Groups by area of law to connect its professional members and facilitate the exchange of ideas. The Practice Groups "track major developments in their area of expertise and ... organize events including FedSoc Forums, in person programs, and panels for several single day conferences like the annual Executive Branch Review Conference."[5]
  • Faculty activities
    The society's Faculty Division "seeks to facilitate dialogue among law professors interested in limited government, the separation of powers, Constitutional theory, the original understanding of the Constitution, and the importance of property rights and free markets."[6]
  • Lawyer activities
    The society's Lawyers Division included chapters that "organize over 400 programs and meetings, drawing a combined audience of over 25,000. ... The chapters host speeches, panel discussions and debates on current topics at the local and national level, and help members find opportunities to become actively involved in the policy and public interest worlds."[7]

In addition to the society's programs and conferences, The Federalist Society hosted the annual National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C.[8]

Judicial selection

As of December 2025, six of nine United States Supreme Court justices were either members or affiliates of The Federalist Society.[2]

The Federalist Society has played a role in the judicial selection process for Republican presidents since the administration of former President Ronald Reagan (R). Reagan nominated Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia, both faculty advisors for The Federalist Society, to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Lee Liberman Otis, a co-founder of the society, later led the judicial selection efforts of the White House Counsel's office under former President George H. W. Bush (R).[9]

Former President George W. Bush (R) took The Federalist Society's recommendations into consideration before nominating federal judges. His nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts and Samuel Alito, both had relationships with the society. In addition, roughly half of Bush's appointees to federal courts of appeals were society members.[9]

As of December 2025, President Donald Trump (R) had appointed three society-affiliated justices to the U.S. Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.[2]

Finances

The following is a breakdown of The Federalist Society's revenues and expenses from 2015 to 2021. The information comes from the Internal Revenue Service.

The Federalist Society financial data 2015-2021
Year Revenue Expenses
2015 $18.2 million $15.1 million
2016 $26.6 million $15.9 million
2017 $20.4 million $18.2 million
2018 $22.7 million $21.7 million
2019 $23.3 million $23.2 million
2020 $20.4 million $19.6 million
2021 $18.9 million $17.7 million

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The Federalist Society, "About Us," accessed December 21, 2025
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Yale News, "How the Federalist Society shaped America’s judiciary," November 4, 2024
  3. ↑ The Federalist Society, "Staff," accessed December 21, 2025
  4. ↑ The Federalist Society, "Student Division," accessed December 22, 2025
  5. ↑ The Federalist Society, "Practice Groups," accessed December 22, 2025
  6. ↑ The Federalist Society, "Faculty Division," accessed December 22, 2025
  7. ↑ The Federalist Society, "Lawyers Division," accessed December 22, 2025
  8. ↑ The Federalist Society, "2026 National Lawyers Convention," accessed December 22, 2025
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Slate, "Federalist Court," January 31, 2017
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