Picture a law firm with thousands of lawyers at its disposal, hundreds of employees, and annual revenues approaching Am Law 200 territory. Its U.S. Supreme Court record is unmatched by a key measure. This year it lured a former Cravath, Swaine & Moore partner to its ranks of senior litigators.

But this is no traditional law firm partnership. It’s a right-leaning Christian legal non-profit, alternately admired as a legal bulwark and reviled as a hate group for its advocacy on flashpoint social issues such as homosexuality and abortion.