William F. Atkin Visits Washburn Law
Washburn law students had the opportunity to hear a presentation by William F. Atkin, International Chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society on Saturday, September 21, 2002. Following his presentation, Mr. Atkin participated in a question and answer session with students.
Atkin briefly described the Clark Law Society (JRCLS), his work as Associate General Counsel-International for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and discussed the concomitant rights and resonsibilities of nations and citizens in fostering religious liberty.
The JRCLS is a professional association of 6,000 attorneys organized into 40 local chapters in the U.S., London, Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand. There are also student chapters organized at a number of law schools in the U.S., including Washburn, Creighton, and Kansas University.
The mission statement of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society reads:
We affirm the strength brought to the law by a lawyer's personal religious conviction.
We strive through public service and professional excellence to promote fairness and virtue founded upon the rule of law.
As Associate General Counsel-International for the LDS Church, Atkin is generally responsible for the delivery of legal services in connection with the international activites of the Church in more than 160 jurisdictions worldwide. He indicated that ordinarily the Church retains local counsel. He noted that in its extensive missionary effort the LDS Church "goes through the front door." He noted the work of law professor Cole Durham of Brigham Young University's International Center for Law and Religious Studies and the annual symposium co-sponsored by several law schools and other organizations interested in international religious liberty that brings foreign officials and scholars to the United States to explore current dimensions of the topic.
Atkin articulated seven minimum rights religious entities need to enjoy religious liberty:
- The right to worship
- The right to assemble
- The right to self-governance
- The right to communicate with Church members
- The right to legal entity status and action
- The right to declare beliefs publicly
- The right to travel freely
He cited Section 134 of the LDS Doctrine & Covenants as a statement that outlines the respective rights and responsibilities of governments and religious associations in their relationships with one another.
Among other topics, he spoke about Franklin S. Richards' role in devising and facilitating legislative enactment of the "corporation sole" as a legal entity in western states that allows ownership and control of church properties to pass smoothly when a Church President dies.
Atkin's legal training and previous experience prepared him well for his current position. From 1979-96 he was affiliated with Baker & McKenzie and was managing partner of the Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv and Almaty offices from 1992-96. From 1976-79 he was a trial attorney with the U.S. Dept. of Justice in New York. He clerked for then Chief Judge David T. Lewis of the Tenth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, from 1975-76.
He received his J.D. degree from Arizona State in 1975 where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Arizona State Law Journal. He received an LL.M. from Columbia in 1979 (international and comparative law). His B.A. is from Brigham Young (1972). He is married to Laura Hansen Atkin.
For more information about the J. Reuben Clark Law Society student chapter at Washburn, contact John Christensen, faculty adviser.
