Lea Patterson serves as Counsel with First Liberty Institute. Before joining First Liberty, Patterson worked in St. Louis, Missouri as a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond W. Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Patterson received her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2016, where she served as an executive editor for the Virginia Law Review and as president of the UVA chapter of Advocates for Life, a national association of law students dedicated to protecting human life. During law school, Patterson interned in the Texas Solicitor General’s Office and Senator Ted Cruz’s Judiciary Committee office.

Patterson received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Texas Christian University in 2013, graduating summa cum laude.

A native of North Texas, Patterson is a member of the Texas State Bar.

Hiram Sasser is Executive General Counsel for First Liberty Institute, where he oversees First Liberty’s litigation and media efforts. Sasser’s practice focuses primarily on First Amendment and other constitutional and civil rights issues. His practice includes a substantial emphasis on seeking and defending against extraordinary remedies in federal court. Sasser successfully argued before federal and state appellate courts, federal and state district courts, and the Texas Supreme Court. His past and present clients include The American Legion, VFW, Association of Christian Schools International, Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Falun Gong, a Native American sweat lodge, Jewish Educational Center, Southern Baptist Convention, National Association of Evangelicals, synagogues, and various state and local government entities and officials.

In addition to his legal duties, he develops, coordinates, and implements successful media strategies on behalf of his clients. This includes numerous appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, and the BBC as well as being heard on various radio stations throughout the United States, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Prior to joining First Liberty, Sasser graduated summa cum laude from Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he received recognition as the “Outstanding Graduate.” He earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University. His military service includes serving as Headquarters Commander, a Company Executive Officer, and Training Officer in the United States Army Reserve.

In 2016, Sasser took a leave of absence to serve a temporary assignment as the Chief of Staff for the Attorney General of Texas.

Mr. Sasser currently serves as an adjunct law professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and at Oklahoma City University School of Law.

In this case—Carson v. Makin—the Institute for Justice (IJ) and First Liberty are challenging this Maine law that bans families from participating in a student-aid program if they choose to send their children to religious ...

The Coach Kennedy case is going to the Supreme Court and could finally restore the Free Exercise Clause, one of the key religious freedom clauses found in the First Amendment, for all Americans.

This week, First Liberty filed a federal lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order on behalf of several Air Force service members, who were being punished because they requested a legal, religious accommodation to the military ...

First Liberty filed suit in federal district court against Alaska Airlines because the airline wrongfully fired two flight attendants over their religious beliefs.

The Lack of Biblical Worldviews Among American Pastors By Ivyanne Nichols So many Americans do not have a biblical worldview, but you would expect that a high percentage of pastors – who lead their churches ...

About three in four Americans have a religious preference, but less than half say that religion is "very important" to them, that they belong to a church or that they regularly attend religious services.

By: Dan McLaughlin - nationalreview.com - June 15, 2022 “How aggressively should liberals attack the Supreme Court?” That is the headline on a Washington Post article co-bylined by Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent. A sampling: A debate is heating ...

By: The Editorial Board - wsj.com - June 14, 2022 The House on Tuesday finally passed a bipartisan bill to step up security for Supreme Court Justices and their families, and the embarrassment is that ...

Following the leak of a Supreme Court draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, Americans have witnessed a disturbing response from the radical Left.

By: Caroline Downey - nationalreview.com - June 15, 2022 Pro-abortion terrorist group Jane’s Revenge, which has claimed credit for a string of recent attacks on pregnancy centers across the country, on Tuesday declared “open season” on pro-life ...

The Guttmacher Institute released a report Wednesday that said abortions in the United States went up by 8 percent from 2017 to 2020 — the first rise in decades.

By Tish Harrison Warren - NYTimes.com - June 12, 2022 In Christian liturgical churches, today is Trinity Sunday, which kicks off a long sweep of “ordinary time.” This period — which will last till mid-November — ...

By: The Editorial Board - wsj.com - June 15, 2022 The 34th district is in South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, where the GOP has made many inroads. Some news reports say this swath of ...