Serving Under a Perfect Senior Partner

Dealing with knotty legal issues daily, prayer is a focus throughout the day.

“There is no dichotomy between practicing law and faith,” she says. “The Lord is my senior partner in every decision.”

Her well-worn prayer journal bulges with needs and answers to prayer. She views being an attorney as a ministry seeded by miracles. She recalls a Christian client desperate for legal help and short on funds. As the owner of a small business and lacking insurance, the man was being sued for several hundred thousand dollars. The plaintiff was a large firm with substantial financial resources, threatening an unequal David and Goliath battle.

“The Lord delivered my client when the lawsuit was disallowed in an arbitration hearing,” Fiedler says. “It was a legal miracle and answer to prayer.”

Fiedler’s career ambitions began as a teenager when God spoke to her about becoming a Christian attorney. Growing up in a conservative evangelical home, she gave her life to Jesus as Savior at an early age. In high school she excelled as a skilled debater, often staking out a lonely voice opposed to abortion during debates.

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Gordon College in 1982 and earned a master’s in political science from Drew University in 1983. She married her husband, Alan, also a lawyer, in 1982.

Fiedler enrolled in the Seton Hall University School of Law night-school program, and soon joined a top Manhattan law firm as a legal assistant. It was a tough four-year grind before earning a doctor of jurisprudence degree in 1989. Married, working full time, commuting, and studying law piled one stress on top of another. Yet she learned early on to honor Christ by keeping the Sabbath holy by worshipping instead of working on Sundays.

“Even in law school I endeavored to honor the Sabbath and when I did, I accomplished more through the Lord in less time on the other six days,” Fiedler says. “It’s still a discipline and struggle, but God always honors our obedience.”

Fiedler has faced hard challenges in her personal life. She persevered through several years of treatments for infertility problems until she says the Lord healed her during a Communion service. The births of three children followed: Amber in 1991, Andrew in 1995, and Adam, with serious challenges in 1996.  

When prenatal tests revealed that Adam had Down syndrome, Fieldler endured pressure from medical personnel to terminate her pregnancy, especially when the baby was diagnosed with duodenal atresia and holes in his heart.

Meanwhile, Fiedler sustained complications that put her life in jeopardy if she carried full term. Medical pressure for an abortion escalated, but she refused. Adam was born four weeks early by Caesarean section, and the duodenal atresia was corrected by surgery 24 hours after birth. She says God healed the four holes in Adam’s heart at five months, baffling the doctors and nurses.

Today at 19 Adam is well, cherished, and loved by his family, members of Calvary Temple, and the local community. Adam inspires people with his unhampered worshipping style and praying freely in the Holy Spirit. He is a role model and an encouragement for special needs children and their parents.

The Fiedlers have been active in Calvary Temple since 1988. She serves as its go-to legal adviser, and Laurie and Alan lead a monthly life group in their home.

Fiedler’s law practice covers diverse areas. She advises churches and nonprofits and serves as general counsel for the Assemblies of God New Jersey District Council.

As a real estate attorney, Fiedler acts as HIS Fund attorney on loans made to AG churches in New Jersey through the Heritage Investment Services Fund.

“She provides legal advice to churches on a wide range of issues,” says HIS Fund CEO Michael T. Bongiorno. “She is an authentic believer and has a genuine love for the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church.”