Dr. Michael P. Farris is a litigator, educator, public advocate, and communicator, and is widely recognized for his successful work on both the national and international stage.
He is the founding president of both the Home School Legal Defense Association (1983) and Patrick Henry College (2000) and continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of HSLDA and Chancellor Emeritus of PHC. Most recently, Farris served as the President and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom and continues to serve in a part-time capacity as Counselor to the President. Farris has specialized in constitutional appellate litigation. In that capacity, he has argued before the appellate courts of thirteen states, eight federal circuit courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United States, where in 2018 he successfully argued NIFLA v. Becerra, resulting in a free speech victory for California’s pro-life pregnancy centers. Farris was an executive committee member of the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion that successfully lobbied Congress for the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. He also has substantial experience in international religious freedom advocacy. Farris is the author of over fifteen books, as well as law review and other scholarly and popular articles. He and his wife, Vickie, have ten children and many grandchildren.
