Mike Farris is a constitutional attorney and tireless defender for religious freedom and parental rights. He has a diverse background as an effective litigator, educator, public advocate, and communicator. In 1983, Farris founded the Home School Legal Defense Association, serving as chairman and general counsel. Farris also founded Patrick Henry College, a Christian college, in 2000. He held the positions of president and professor of government from 2000 to 2006. From 2017 – 2022, he was the CEO and General Counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. The ADF has chalked up a string of successes at the Supreme Court and in other venues in cases involving religious liberty. It secured a victory for Colorado baker Jack Phillips and has argued on behalf of Denver website designer Lorie Smith, who wants to protect her business from being compelled to create products for same-sex couples.
Farris was also co-founder of the Convention of States Project, founded in 2013 to encourage a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution. He served as senior fellow for constitutional studies for the project’s parent organization, Citizens for Self-Governance, and as a member of CSG’s legal board of reference.
Currently Farris serves as General Counsel for the evangelical Christian trade group National Religious Broadcasters. He is working to defend member broadcasters and ministries from challenges including social media “deplatforming,” in which those holding traditional values are often blocked from reaching online communities.
As a lawyer, Farris’ cases include over 40 reported decisions as lead counsel. These decisions were given by the United States Supreme Court, five U.S. circuit courts of Appeal, seven state Supreme Courts, and five state Courts of Appeal.