Michael Berry is General Counsel for First Liberty Institute. He joined First Liberty in 2013 after serving for seven years on active duty as an attorney with the U.S. Marine Corps. Among Mr. Berry’s numerous positions within the Marine Corps, he deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, and from 2009-2012, Mr. Berry served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the United States Naval Academy. Mr. Berry continues to proudly serve our nation as a member of the Marine Corps Reserve.
As General Counsel for First Liberty Institute, Mr. Berry is responsible for leading all aspects of First Liberty’s legal operations. A recognized subject-matter expert, Mr. Berry has testified before Congress and he is routinely invited to speak across the nation about religious freedom. Mr. Berry has also been featured hundreds of times in various national media outlets.
Mr. Berry earned his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University, and he earned his law degree from The Ohio State University.
Publications
News
By Mike Berry, General Counsel The Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 caught most of us unprepared. Among its many surprises was the rare bipartisan nature of the recovery and stimulus package known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. But what was not surprising was how quickly those who oppose religious freedom challenged the rightRead full article »
By: Mike Berry, Deputy General Counsel and Director of Military Affairs for First Liberty Institute The Supreme Court decided last week to not review the case of Joe Kennedy, a Washington state football coach who was fired for praying with his players. But the game isn’t over yet. We have reason to believe the Supreme Court mightRead full article »
By: Mike Berry, Deputy General Counsel and director of military affairs for First Liberty Institute An anti-religion group is seeking to ban U.S. Air Force members from using their “duty day” to volunteer for the Salvation Army’s food distribution efforts over Christmas. The Christian Salvation Army, whose unofficial motto is “doing the most good,” serves communities throughRead full article »
By Mike Berry, Deputy General Counsel and Director of Military Affairs at First Liberty It is said that the passage of time can heal all wounds — but when wounds heal, we still want to remember the important battles in which they were inflicted. So we build memorials and create ceremonies and traditions. We setRead full article »
By Mike Berry, First Liberty Institute Deputy General Counsel and Director of Military Affairs An Army chaplain and his assistant may be disciplined for following his denomination’s rules while accommodating a same-sex couple. In my 16 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, both on active duty and now in the reserve, I have had theRead full article »
By Mike Berry, First Liberty Institute Deputy General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel and Director of Military Affairs and Neal Mehrotra, First Liberty Legal Intern. Originally published in Townhall July 24, 2018. "Did I break the law?" That was the heart-breaking first question Konnor McKay asked us after an out-of-state group of agitators sent aRead full article »
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