Church and Ministry Liability: Employment Claims, Misconduct Suits, Civil Exposure, and Protected Autonomy Under the Law

Theresa Sidebotham | Telios Law PLLC

Theresa Lynn Sidebotham founded Telios Law PLLC in 2012, where she advises organizations in the U.S. and internationally, with a focus on religious and nonprofit law, employment law, child safety, and investigations.

Telios Law advises on legal and policy issues, with an emphasis on First Amendment protections, international law, child protection policies and practices, and employment practices. It also coordinates legal audits and assists with internal investigations. While Telios Law primarily helps clients prevent litigation, it also represents organizations in legal proceedings, advocating for constitutional protections related to religious free exercise, religious privilege, and other First Amendment issues, as well as handling business and employment law matters.

Although she was born in New York, Theresa and her parents arrived in Indonesia just in time for the Communist coup in the “Year of Living Dangerously”. Her four sons were born on three different continents, the youngest when she and her husband were serving in Sumatra. After returning to the States, she enrolled in law school and graduated first in her class from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Theresa was mentored by judges at the Colorado Court of Appeals and worked at a large law firm serving religious institutions and doing general litigation before opening Telios Law.

Now, she uses these experiences to help religious and nonprofit organizations achieve their vision in a way which is “complete, perfect, or whole,” as the name “Telios” implies.

Jonathan Robert Nelson | Nelson Madden Black LLP

Jonathan Nelson practices primarily in the fields of civil litigation and corporate law, with a concentration on the representation of religious institutions. He is a highly regarded church law practitioner.

In 1991, after eight years of practice with major law firms in Chicago and New York City, Mr. Nelson began to develop an independent law practice representing religious institutions and others. Since then, Mr. Nelson has represented or advised hundreds of clients in the religious community, including Christian churches of many kinds, synagogues, mosques, a religious order, Hindu temples, Jungians, a Yoruba cultural center, pastors, church trustees, missionaries, and victims of religious persecution seeking asylum. Mr. Nelson has been a panelist or speaker at meetings organized by the American Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association and other lawyers’ groups. He has also served as lead counsel in numerous judicial and administrative litigations, including a precedent-setting lawsuit brought by the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church against the City of New York in 2001 to enforce the church’s First Amendment rights to serve homeless people on the steps of the church. Mr. Nelson has been listed in SuperLawyers since 2012 and has been rated “AV Preeminent” since 1998.

Jeff Dalrymple | Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention

Jeff Dalrymple is currently the Director Abuse Prevention & Response at the SBC Executive Committee. Jeff formerly served as executive director of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention, a national association of Christian ministries committed to child and youth protection. In his role with the SBC Executive Committee, Jeff serves as a catalyst to educate and equip Southern Baptists with abuse prevention and response. His leadership experience includes roles in public safety, higher education, non-governmental organizations, and parachurch ministry. Jeff served as a vice president at Southern Seminary in Louisville from 2008-2016. In addition to implementing child protection programs at several ministries, his experience includes organizational leadership, team building, communications, development/fundraising, hospitality, conference & event planning, international relations, strategic planning, and board governance. Jeff is based in Jacksonville, Florida and is married to his wife Kristil and together they have four children.

Session I – Religious Employment Law and Clergy Misconduct: Legal Duties and Risk Management | 12:00pm – 1:40pm

• The ministerial exception and the religious exemption
• Clergy misconduct with criminal and civil liability
• HR compliance policies and training for ministries

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

• Child safeguarding policies and training for ministries
• Responding to allegations of misconduct

Break | 1:40pm – 1:50pm

Session II – Safeguarding the Vulnerable: Abuse Prevention and Child Protection in Ministries | 1:50pm – 2:50pm

• Recognize the problem of abuse in a church and ministry context
• Raise awareness for the importance of abuse prevention and child protection
• Understand the framework for safeguarding the vulnerable

Break | 2:50pm – 3:00pm

Session III – Religious Institutions in a Secular Legal Environment | 3:00pm – 5:10pm

• First Amendment protections for religious organizations
• Incorporation and other forms of organization for religious institutions under state laws

Break | 4:00pm – 4:10pm

• Principles of church governance in corporate context
• Judicial abstention in cases involving religious conflicts