The Third Rail David French

I’m a writer, recovering litigator, and veteran. After graduating from Harvard Law School, I spent time in the worlds of commercial litigation, constitutional law, and the law of armed conflict. I’m a senior editor of a new conservative-media company called The Dispatch, the former president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and a former lecturer at Cornell Law School. In 2006 I joined the Army Reserve, attended officer basic training at the ripe old age of 37, squeaked through, and then deployed to Iraq as the squadron judge advocate for the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. I served in Diyala province during the surge and was awarded a Bronze Star.

I’ve litigated in federal courts across the nation and dedicated much of my career to the defense of civil liberties of Americans from across the political and religious spectrums. During that time I developed a special concern for the rise of negative polarization and the decline of respect for America’s classical liberal values. My latest book, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation, explores the causes and consequences of our profound national animosities.

I live in Franklin, Tennessee, with my best-selling-author wife, Nancy, and I’m blessed to have three kids and one beautiful granddaughter.