Chris Motz - First Liberty

Christopher J. Motz serves as Senior Counsel with First Liberty Institute. His practice focuses on First Amendment free exercise and establishment clause rights of United States service members domestically and internationally, chaplains of varying denominations, veterans, and defense industry contractors. He has also represented Catholic bishops and priests against state officials.

Chris currently serves part-time as a judge advocate in the Air Force reserve component, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel. Prior to that he served as a Marine infantry officer, leading Marines on several combat tours. He has been forward deployed alongside soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and Coast Guardsmen. His advocacy for the religious rights of service members has been published in the Wall Street Journal.

Before joining First Liberty, Chris served as general counsel and chief of staff to a Catholic diocese, where he led the Catholic Church’s efforts to oppose a state constitutional ballot measure reinstating Roe v. Wade, achieving a record-setting 18-point victory, a nationwide first in the wake of the Dobbs decsion. Earlier in his career he led a state Catholic conference, where he steered the successful passage of a state religious freedom resotration act. A member of the Knights of Columbus, he is a past member of the National Diocesan Attorneys Association and the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors.

He graduated cum laude from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law and Public Policy, represented a Messianic Jewish prisoner before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with the school’s Religious Liberty Appellate Clinic, and published articles on attorney ethics and legal issues around drone strikes

< PREVIOUS NEXT >

Request Chris to Speak

First in the fight for your religious liberty.

Religious liberty is our first liberty as Americans. At First Liberty Institute, we know that it can be confusing when you face a challenge to your religious liberty. No one should have to face it alone.

That’s where First Liberty can help. We have decades of experience making sure people just like you get the help they deserve. We are a nationwide, religious liberty law firm with an unmatched record of defending religious liberty—in our schools, for our houses of worship, in the military, and throughout the public arena.

If you believe your religious liberty has been threatened or violated, please fill out the form below so we can evaluate your case.

Our legal intake team personally evaluates each request for legal help and may follow up with you over the phone for more information about your specific situation. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to take every case, but if we do, our legal services are provided at no charge to you (pro bono).

Title *

First Name *

Last Name *

Job Title

Organization

Address

Street Address *

Address Line 2

City *

State *

ZIP Code *

Phone Number *

Email *

How Did You Hear About Us?

Please provide a brief overview describing what happened, what you feel was done wrong, and what you seek to be done on your behalf. (1,000 characters max for each field) 1) What specifically happened? *

2) Who or what entity was involved (e.g., government official, school, employer, etc.)? *

3) When did the issue(s) occur? *

4) How do you believe your religious liberty rights were threatened or infringed? *

5) What do you seek to be done on your behalf?

6) Have you contacted or are you currently represented by an attorney in regards to this issue?

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to represent individuals or organizations in criminal cases, divorce actions, child custody disputes and other matters outside the scope of religious liberty. In some cases, even if there is a religious liberty issue implicated, we may not be able provide representation due to unforeseeable legal issues or due to limited resources and/or our lack of capacity to take a new matters at any given time. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide referrals for general legal action. I intend this communication to be confidential and understand that First Liberty Institute will treat all information supplied on this form as confidential. By submitting this form, I agree that I have not entered into an attorney client relationship with First Liberty Institute, that First Liberty Institute does not represent me, and that no representations have been made to me indicating that First Liberty Institute will undertake legal representation of any party in the matter described. I understand that information provided by me may be shared with the legal staff of First Liberty Institute as well as with its volunteer attorneys to evaluate a potential claim. If First Liberty Institute, in its sole discretion, agrees to undertake legal representation on this matter, that agreement will be set forth in a separate written document. I Agree