Alan E. Sears is an American lawyer and conservative advocate specializing in religious liberty and traditional family values. He co-founded the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), now known as Alliance Defending Freedom, in 1994 with a group of prominent Christian leaders and donors, serving as the organization's first president, CEO, and general counsel from its inception until January 2017. Under his leadership, ADF grew into a major legal powerhouse handling thousands of cases related to religious freedom, pro-life issues, and opposition to same-sex marriage, filing amicus briefs in landmark Supreme Court cases such as Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014).

Prior to ADF, Sears held key roles in the Reagan administration, serving as staff executive director of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (Meese Commission) from 1985 to 1986. Earlier in his career, he worked as a prosecutor in Los Angeles County and clerked for a federal judge.

Sears has authored books like 'The Homeland Manifesto' and 'Who Is This Man?' promoting Christian worldview perspectives. While praised by allies for advancing faith-based causes, Sears and ADF have faced accusations of promoting anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and have been involved in over 1,200 lawsuits, drawing scrutiny from civil rights groups.