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Matt Clark has stepped down as president of the Alabama Center for Law and Liberty, which started as the legal arm of the Alabama Policy Institute, to join the staff of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker as a senior staff attorney.
Along with leading ACCL, Clark and his wife are prominent figures behind an ongoing effort to ban books in their local public library.
The ACCL was formed as API’s legal arm in 2021, and became its own entity in June 2023. The conservative firm notably led opposition to a Montgomery ordinance proposed by Mayor Steven Reed to prevent discrimination based on a variety of factors including sexual orientation and gender identity.
Clark has been with the center since March 2021.
“I am grateful to ACLL’s board, staff, donors and allies, as well as to the Alabama Policy Institute, for giving me the chance to fight for conservative principles in the courts since March of 2021,” Clark told 1819 News, which originated as the media arm of API. “I am also grateful to my wife for taking over the company, and I know it will be in good hands. I am also thankful to Chief Justice Parker for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to take the next step in my career. Finally, I am thankful to God for blessing me with the chance to run ACLL for two years and to continue to serve my state by working for the Chief Justice.”
His wife, Laura Clark, will be stepping in to the role of president. Laura Clark received her Master of Laws degree from the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law at Faulkner University.
“I appreciate the great opportunity to lead ACLL and continue the great work it has been doing in fighting for conservative values,” Laura Clark said. “I value nothing more than faith, family, and our constitutional rights. I look forward to fighting for all these principles in the days ahead.”
The Clarks have recently been among the leaders of a group critical of the Autauga-Prattville Public Library for providing books that they say includes inappropriate content including sexual content, LGBTQ content and gender ideology. So far, the 10 books challenged by the group have not been significantly moved by the library board, which has found the books to generally be in their appropriate places.
Clark told the board last week that the ACCL had not sued the board yet because its decisions have been “government speech” and that the firm does not have grounds to sue at this time.
