Former longtime legal counsel for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee issued a response on Monday (May 23) refuting accusations made against them in a nearly 300-page report released by the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force the day before.
In the report, detailing an independent investigation conducted by Guidepost Solutions, attorneys Jim Guenther and Jaime Jordan — along with senior EC leadership — were sharply criticized for their alleged handling of numerous abuse claims during the scope of a report that covered January 2000 to mid-June 2021.
“We appreciate the monumental task faced by Guidepost Solutions and its effort in a very short time to distill over 20 years of events into a single report,” the 250-plus-word statement from the Nashville law firm of Guenther, Jordan & Price began. “However, we believe the report contains misstatements of fact and quotations from us which are misleading because they are reported out of context.”
‘Greatly disappointed’
In their statement the attorneys went on to note, “We are greatly disappointed in the lack of understanding the report shows for the role and responsibility of legal counsel.”
“The report repeatedly attacks our firm for advising the Executive Committee and the Southern Baptist Convention regarding the risks which could arise from various courses of action,” they said. “Understanding legal risks and how to mitigate those risks are primary reasons individuals and organizations hire legal counsel.”
They continued, “As lawyers we are bound by professional rules of conduct to zealously protect our clients’ legitimate interests and to discuss the legal consequences of any proposed course of conduct. Our clients weigh that advice and choose their ultimate course of action.”
According to the report, Guenther, Jordan and senior EC leaders for many years “largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse.” The report alleged that they “closely guarded information about abuse allegations and lawsuits, which were not shared with EC trustees, and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC to the exclusion of other considerations.” As a result, “survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy — even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation,” Guidepost reported.
In their response, the law firm noted they “disagree sharply with many of the characterizations in the report and its assignment of ill will and bad motives to men and women of the Executive Committee who struggled year after year with complex issues.”
“In our experience,” their statement continued, “nearly all of these individuals were motivated by a deep desire to give their best service to the Southern Baptist Convention and to be good stewards of the trust placed in them.”
In October, following a vote by the EC to wave attorney-client privilege in the Guidepost investigation, the law firm announced they would no longer represent the SBC Executive Committee after nearly six decades of service. Since then they have reportedly assisted the Executive Committee on a limited contractual basis.
See full statement:
We appreciate the monumental task faced by Guidepost Solutions and its effort in a very short time to distill over 20 years of events into a single report. However, we believe the report contains misstatements of fact and quotations from us which are misleading because they are reported out of context.
We disagree sharply with many of the characterizations in the report and its assignment of ill will and bad motives to men and women of the Executive Committee who struggled year after year with complex issues. In our experience, nearly all of these individuals were motivated by a deep desire to give their best service to the Southern Baptist Convention and to be good stewards of the trust placed in them.
We are greatly disappointed in the lack of understanding the report shows for the role and responsibility of legal counsel. The report repeatedly attacks our firm for advising the Executive Committee and the Southern Baptist Convention regarding the risks which could arise from various courses of action.
Understanding legal risks and how to mitigate those risks are primary reasons individuals and organizations hire legal counsel. As lawyers we are bound by professional rules of conduct to zealously protect our clients’ legitimate interests and to discuss the legal consequences of any proposed course of conduct. Our clients weigh that advice and choose their ultimate course of action.
Our goal is always to represent our clients with the highest degree of legal competence and integrity. That was certainly our attitude during the time we were privileged to advise the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.
See related story about Guenther’s work with the SBC.
