Will Creeley

Legal Director

Will began defending student and faculty rights for FIRE in 2006 after graduating from New York University School of Law, where he served as an associate executive editor for the New York University Law Review. Will has appeared on national cable television and radio on behalf of FIRE and has spoken to thousands of students, faculty, administrators, and attorneys at events across the country.

Barred in New York and Pennsylvania, Will is a member of the First Amendment Lawyers Association and serves as Co-Chair of the Education Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice.

Will’s writing has been published by The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Jurist, Inside Higher Ed, Daily Journal, the Charleston Law Review, and many other outlets. Will edited the second edition of FIRE’s Guide to Due Process and Campus Justice, co-edited the second edition of FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus, and has coauthored amicus curiae briefs submitted to a number of courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States and multiple United States Courts of Appeals.

Will graduated magna cum laude from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2003. A proud native of Buffalo, New York, Will now lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.

Selected Writings

• The problem with rescinding admission
• Fighting a faculty gag order at NY’s Nassau Community College
• Duke-UNC Middle East studies program gets its funding, but concerns remain
• “Where’s FIRE!?” On the case, as always
• Censored on Campus? FIRE Will Defend You

Published Writings

• “First Things First”
• Speech Freedom on Campus: Past, Present, and Future
• Restoring free speech on campus – The Washington Post
• How the Sex-Harassment Cops Became Speech Police – WSJ
• How to Respond to Richard Spencer – The New York Times

Available Speeches

• Free Speech 101: Protecting Free Expression and the First Amendment at our Nation’s Colleges and Universities
• Campus Justice: The Importance of Due Process and Fundamental Fairness in College Proceedings
• FIRE’s “Greatest Hits”: Learning from the Worst Abuses of Campus Rights
• Facebook vs. the First Amendment: Student Speech in the Digital Age
• Student Speech Rights in Court: Case Law Primer and Update
• Correcting Common Mistakes in Campus Speech Policies

See Will Speak

Free Speech 101: Student and Faculty First Amendment Rights on Today’s Campus