David Austin French, born on January 24, 1969, is an American political commentator and former attorney renowned for arguing high-profile religious liberty cases. A versatile writer, he is a columnist for The New York Times and has previously contributed as a fellow at the National Review Institute and a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019. French is at the forefront of The Dispatch as a senior editor and lends his expertise to The Atlantic as an occasional contributing writer.

He brings an insightful perspective to the field of public policy as a distinguished visiting professor at Lipscomb University, his alma mater. French's literary contributions are substantial, including being the author or co-author of several books, notably the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore.

His academic credentials include graduating from Harvard Law School, and he has made significant impacts as the past president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and as a former lecturer at Cornell Law School. In the legal sphere, French has served as senior counsel for both the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom. His commitment to service extends to the military, where he holds the rank of major in the United States Army Reserve (IRR) and has been deployed to Iraq in 2007, serving as Squadron Judge Advocate in Diyala Province.