Survivors' Rights

Lieff Cabraser’s sexual abuse survivor lawyer team is investigating new reports of widespread abuse in Southern Baptist Convention churches, including specific details that many churches worked to protect themselves against the interests of their parishioners, and that victims who did seek justice or even just protection found themselves faced with denials, disregard, and even outright attacks.

In May 2022, reports came to light of a decades-long cover-up by the Southern Baptist Convention of the sexual abuse of child and adult congregants by members of its clergy. A new 300-page independent report highlights shocking details about specific abuse cases, the vilification and ignoring of victims, a secret predator database, and reveals how denominational leaders strived for decades to actively resist calls for abuse prevention and reform.

“The Executive Committee [of the Southern Baptist Convention] betrayed not only survivors who worked hard to try to make something happen, but betrayed the whole Southern Baptist Convention,” noted Christa Brown, a church-member turned activist who is a retired appellate attorney in the Western U.S. “They’ve made their own faith into a complicit partner for their own decision to choose institutional protection over the protection of kids and congregants.”

Lieff Cabraser has successfully represented survivors across the U.S. who have been victimized by sexual violence and sexual abuse. We treat every client with individual care, respect, and deep compassion as we bring our comprehensive legal skills forward on each case. We have a dedicated team of lawyers, nurse consultants, and paralegals experienced in working with and listening to survivors who work closely with every client in every case to see that justice is won.

If a school, church, sports team, hospital, or another institution failed to protect you from abuse, we may be able to help you hold that institution accountable, and possibly seek compensation and practice changes to prevent that failure from happening again to you or others. We urge you to contact a survivor’s rights lawyer at Lieff Cabraser today about your potential case and recovery.

If you were the victim of abuse unrelated to a larger institution, representation by our firm may not be the best option for your situation. We encourage you to consider representation by other attorneys, as well as support from resources like RAINN.org, WomensLaw.org, MaleSurvivor.org, 1in6.org (another resource for male survivors), iSurvive.org, and AfterSilence.org.