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 was founding president of both the Home School Legal Defense Association (1983) and Patrick Henry College (2000). He served as the President and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom from 2017 to 2022. In “semi-retirement,” he serves as General Counsel to the National Religious Broadcasters and consults with the Convention of States Project.

For over 40 years, Farris has practiced constitutional appellate litigation specializing in religious freedom and parental rights. 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. Mike was CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom while ADF served as co-counsel to the Attorney General of Mississippi for the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health which reversed Roe v. Wade. For his work in homeschooling, Farris was named one of the Top 100 Faces in Education of the 20th Century by Education Week.

He has also been recognized with lifetime achievement awards by the Heritage Foundation, the Family Foundation of Virginia, the Florida Family Policy Council, the Convention of States Project, the Association of Classical Christian Schools, and has received two honorary doctorates. 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, many grandchildren and one great-grandchild.