Donald Clark

After completing a bachelor’s degree in political economy from Williams College, Donald Clark earned a doctorate of jurisprudence from the School of Law at Rutgers University–Camden. He soon joined the firm of Isham, Lincoln & Beale, then moved to McDermott, Will & Emery in 1988. In 1990 he founded the litigation firm of Clark & DeGrand where his practice focused on high-stakes trials and religious liberty jurisprudence. During this time, Clark volunteered to represent a death row inmate in Alabama, eventually proving that law enforcement knowingly presented perjured testimony during trial and overturning his client’s capital murder conviction and death sentence.

From 2001 to 2015, Clark served as general and nationwide special counsel for the United Church of Christ, a Protestant religious denomination with five thousand churches. On its behalf, he successfully argued a First Amendment free-exercise and establishment clause case before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and oversaw a federal court lawsuit that resulted in recognizing the constitutional right of clergy to solemnize same-sex marriages in North Carolina. He also successfully represented the church in an inquiry questioning the right of presidential candidate Barack Obama to share his faith journey during the denomination’s 50th anniversary General Synod.

Following these achievements and many others, Clark’s career pivoted toward the arts and entertainment world. In 2016, he became co-owner of the Chicago Magic Lounge, a nightlife venue top-rated on TripAdvisor and recognized as one of “Chicago’s Best” by Chicago Magazine. Clark served as executive producer of the award-winning feature film Guest Artist, written by and starring Jeff Daniels. He also produced the play Another Shot in Chicago and off Broadway, resulting in a Joseph Jefferson Equity nomination for Best New Work in 2022. At Rutgers, Clark remains actively engaged with the law school. He served as administrative editor of the school’s Law Review from 1978-79 and was a founding supporter of its Journal of Law & Religion. In 2008 he endowed the annual Clark Lecture in Law & Religion.