Staff

Brian Kelsey

Senior Attorney, Litigation

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

- Jesus of Nazareth

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As a Tennessee State Senator and lawmaker for 18 years, Brian Kelsey passed more constitutional amendments than any other legislator in state history. He championed school choice, banned a state income tax, protected the right to work, and reformed judicial selection.

An experienced litigator, Brian has won two groundbreaking victories at the United States Court of Appeals. He managed the lawsuit that obtained the first nationwide injunction against the Biden Administration’s proposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate on 100 million Americans. Also, he was the architect of one of the only successful challenges to a federal statute under the private nondelegation doctrine in the last 90 years. For AFPI, he continues to spearhead pioneering cases to establish new legal precedents in state supreme courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brian Kelsey received his juris doctorate from Georgetown University and his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina with honors. Since 2003, he has practiced law with a medium-sized private law firm, his own law firm, and another nonprofit law firm. He also taught constitutional law and government relations at the University of Memphis and its law school.

After representing the suburbs of Memphis, Brian moved with his wife, daughter, and twin sons to his wife’s hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, where he remains an avid Tar Heels basketball fan.

Bar Admissions: Tennessee

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