Welcome to the website of the Orthodox Christian Attorney Network! We're a fellowship of Orthodox Christian attorneys and law students from across the United States who share a desire to build relationships and learn to serve our Lord through the legal profession.

We are pleased to announce that after six years as an informal group, OCAN has now been formally established as a nonprofit corporation and we're ready to take OCAN's ministry to a higher level.

OCAN is not just another professional association. We'd like to help make your legal career a part of your life journey in Christ. As St. Paul said, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17).

We invite you to join us for what we hope will be a career-transforming journey. Check out our website to learn more about our history, mission, and purposes.

Sign up below to receive OCAN news. We look forward to connecting with you!

Confidentiality of Confession 

IN THE ORTHODOX CANONICAL TRADITION,

AND ITS LEGAL CHALLENGES

Thursday, Jan 23, 2025

12:00 pm ET/9:00 am PT

In a majority of U.S. states, clergy are considered mandatory reporters of child abuse. Generally, such laws have carved out an exception for information clergy learns during Confession. In recent years however, multiple states have removed, or made efforts to remove, this exception. This webinar will explore the canonical support and rationale for the confidentiality of Confession in the Orthodox tradition. An understanding of this will allow an evaluation and hopefully a response to these legal challenges.

Speaker: Archdeacon Justin Bosl earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law after studying philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. For nearly 19 years he was a trial lawyer and shareholder at Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood in Oakland, California representing injured workers and consumers in toxic tort litigation. In 2023, he resigned from the firm to focus full-time on serving the Church. He graduated from the diaconate program at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and holds a M.Div. from the Antiochian House of Studies. He is currently enrolled in the Th.M. program at Holy Cross. He serves as the Archdeacon of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco as well as the chair of the Metropolis Legal Committee and serves on a variety of boards and committees for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops. He and his wife have four children and live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Please RSVP for this Zoom event with the link below and share this with anyone who might be interested.

       “The emergence of the Orthodox Christian Attorney Network is a long-awaited and happy development for Orthodox Christianity in the United States. Creating this national pan-Orthodox professional community will clearly enhance the presence of Orthodox Christianity in the legal and judicial systems of our culture, and reinforce the principles and values of our holy faith among an important and underserved portion of our faithful. Having Orthodox Christian leaders in the legal community will doubtless enhance the quality of legal thinking in the United States, and provide a much-needed support system for faithful lawyers around the country. We look forward to the many blessings that will emerge within and because of OCAN.”  

- Eric S. Namee, Managing Member, Hinkle Law Firm and President, Virginia H. Farah Foundation