Brian Farrell
Overview
Brian Farrell is a Professor of Instruction at the University of Iowa College of Law. He is Director of Iowa Law’s Citizen Lawyer Program, Associate Director of the UI Center for Human Rights, and directs the College of Law’s undergraduate Human Rights Certificate program. His teaching and scholarship focuses on public international law, wrongful convictions, human rights, access to justice, and rural practice.
Professor Farrell received his JD from the University of Iowa and his LLM and PhD from the National University of Ireland Galway (now University of Galway). Before joining Iowa Law, he practiced law in Iowa and Georgia. He was a co-founder of the Innocence Project of Iowa in 2007. In 2012 Professor Farrell was selected as a Fulbright Senior Lecturer and taught in the law faculty at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski in Bulgaria. His book, Habeas Corpus in International Law, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017. He served as a commissioner on the Iowa Access to Justice Commission from 2016-2022 and taught in Irish Centre for Human Rights’ LLM program at the University of Galway from 2018-2025.
Research areas
- International law
- Human rights
- Wrongful convictions
- Access to justice
- Rural practice and legal issues
Teaching areas
- Wrongful Convictions
- Rurality and Law
- International Law
- Human Rights
Professional affiliations and memberships
- American Bar Association
- Iowa State Bar Association
- State Bar of Georgia
- Linn County Bar Association
- American Society of International Law
- Law & Society Association
Awards and honors
- AALS Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2024
- Board of Regents Award for Staff Excellence, 2019
- Iowa State Bar Association YLD Award of Merit, 2016
- Fulbright Scholar, 2012-2013
