The Lawyers Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control (LANAC), renamed LAWS in 1992, was founded in Boston Massachusetts in 1980 by a group of American lawyers who were concerned with the U.S.-Soviet arms race. Among its founding Directors were Dean of Harvard Law School Erwin N. Griswold, Foley, Hoag & Elliot senior partner Hans F. Loeser, LANAC Executive Director Anthony P. Sager and many other prominent legal professionals.

In 1983, when the Cold War was at its heights, several LANAC directors went to Moscow to meet with a senior group of Soviet lawyers from Association of Soviet Lawyers (ASL) to initiate a dialogue on nuclear arms problems between the United States and the Soviet Union. From 1983 and 1990, lawyers from LANAC and ASL met annually in Moscow and Washington, DC to discuss, negotiate and propose to their governments possible joint solutions to curbing the nuclear arms race.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, LANAC changed its name to Lawyers Alliance for World Security (LAWS), moved its headquarters from Boston to Washington, D.C., and broadened its scope and programs to include the rule of law, democracy institution building, parliamentarism and other issues. Under the LAWS umbrella, Tony Sager launched a highly successful initiative from Boston titled Lawmaking for Democracy Project which became one of the leading programs of LAWS. The Lawmaking for Democracy Project, supported by U.S. government grants and contributions from private foundations, worked to educate and inform lawyers, members of national parliaments, members of national courts, regional officials, scholars and other experts from Russia and other CIS about the rule of law, federalism, parliamentrism, Western court system and other issues faced by the newly independent states. As part of this project, LAWS organized and conducted dozens of exchanges, training tours, workshops, conferences and other activities helping countries of the former Soviet Union to build full-fledged democratic systems.

At the same time, LAWS carried out several other programs from its headquarters in Washington, DC. These programs were aimed at educating the general public in the United States about the dangers posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction; assisting Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic States in building reliable national export control systems; promoting and advocating major multilateral arms control and non-proliferation agreements; and helping the United States to cope with the new post-Cold War threats such as international terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In 1992, another American NGO, the Committee for National Security (CNS), joined LAWS as its affiliate to strengthen and enhance its program work in the United States. CNS is focused primarily on building a domestic constituency to influence arms control policy to enhance U.S. and international security.

In 1994, Mark. P. Schlefer, senior partner of Fort & Schlefer became the President of LAWS. Under his leadership, LAWS was able to solidify its position in arms control community and sustain an impressive cadre of programs, while undergoing major organizational changes. In July 1997, Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr. retired from his position as Special Representative of the President for Arms Control, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and joined LAWS as its full-time President. Under the leadership of Ambassador Graham and Mr. Schlefer, who in 1997 became Chairman of the organization, LAWS significantly enhanced the membership of its Board of Directors with new experts and practitioners, developed several highly successful programs in Europe, Russia and North East Asia, and emerged as an internationally recognized authority in nuclear non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament issues.

LAWS successes are largely due to the panoply of its experts – former senior government officials, retired military officers, diplomats, prominent academics and other arms control practitioners – who serve on the board and implement the projects. These experts, many of whom are lawyers, focus on translating policy into action, and stress practical approaches.

The non-governmental, bipartisan nature of LAWS encourages foreign officials, non-governmental leaders and international media to view LAWS programs as effective, unbiased, and prudent efforts to advance international security goals. As well-known, respected former practitioners, LAWS representatives command authority aboard. They are listened to when grassroots activists would be ignored, and scholarly experts would meet skepticism.