G. Michael Parsons

G. Michael Parsons is a Program Affiliate Scholar at NYU School of Law. He previously served as the Associate Director of Lawyering (2020-2021) and as an Acting Assistant Professor (2018-2021) at NYU Law. In 2021, Parsons was awarded the Podell Distinguished Teaching Award.

His research focuses on political representation and how the law shapes, supports, and subverts fair representation, especially in the areas of federalism, the separation of powers, and the law of democracy. He is especially interested in topics pertaining to redistricting, election administration, judicial reform, and money in politics, and he is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the law surrounding ranked choice voting and alternative methods of representation. His scholarship has been published in the California Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, among others. His work has been cited in federal and state court opinions and his proposals have been incorporated into legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Parsons is also the founder of Parsons Law PLLC, advising clients who are making government more representative, responsive, and responsible. He works with nonprofits, commissions, government officials, candidates, and voters on issues relating to election law, voting rights, and the structure of government. He has represented merits parties and amici in major constitutional cases implicating the law of democracy and the separation of powers, including Rucho v. Common Cause (partisan gerrymandering), Blumenthal v. Trump (emoluments), and Patchak v. Zinke (separation of powers).

Prior to joining NYU, Parsons practiced political, appellate, and antitrust law at two major international law firms and clerked for the Honorable Norman H. Stahl of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Honorable Robert E. Payne of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He received his JD, magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his AB, cum laude, from Davidson College.