John J. "Jack" Farley, III is a former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
In September 1989, Jack Farley was nominated by President George H. W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate as a Judge of the United States Court of Veterans Appeals for a term of fifteen years and he continues to sit as a retired judge when recalled.
Prior to his appointment, Farley was a member of the Senior Executive Service and a Director of the Torts Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, with responsibility for, inter alia, the defense of the United States in the massive asbestos litigation and the representation and defense of personally-sued federal employees in common law and constitutional tort litigation.
Farley received his A.B. degree in economics in 1964 from the College of the Holy Cross, where he was captain of the freshman and varsity lacrosse teams, and his M.B.A. degree in 1966 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business where he was a Samuel Bronfman Fellow and President of Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional business fraternity. He received his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, in 1973 from Hofstra University School of Law, graduating first in his class and serving as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Hofstra Law Review.
Farley served in the United States Army from 1966 until his retirement as a captain in 1970 due to 100% disability from wounds received during combat in Vietnam. His decorations include four Bronze Star Awards (three with "V" Device), two Purple Hearts, and the Army Commendation Medal. From 1973 to 1978, he was a Trial Attorney in the Torts Section, Civil Division, U. S. Department of Justice and from 1978 to 1980 he served as Assistant Director of the Torts Branch.
The author of numerous articles, Farley has been a lecturer and faculty member at the ABA Appellate Judges Seminars; Attorney General's Advocacy Institute; FBI Academy; OPM Executive Seminar Centers; Federal Executive Institute; and Federal Judicial Center. He was a commencement speaker and recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Medal, Hofstra University School of Law in 1986. From 1986 to 1989, Farley served on the Board of Directors of the Senior Executives Association. In November 1990, he became the first chairman of the Veterans Law Section of the Federal Bar Association. In 1995, he received the Dean's Award for Distinguished Hofstra Law School Alumni. In 1999, he was inducted into the Massapequa High School Hall of Fame. In 2006, he received the In Hoc Signo Award from the College of the Holy Cross. The Paralyzed Veterans of America presented Farley with the Harry A. Schweikert, Jr. Disability Awareness Award at its Annual Convention in August 2007.
Farley served on the adjunct faculty at the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America, where he taught administrative law and federal litigation. He served on the board of directors of the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) and the board of visitors of the U.S. Armed Forces Amputee Patient Care Program. An ACA-certified amputee peer visitor and trainer, Farley trained amputee peer visitors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), and he was a member of the faculty of the Military Amputees Advanced Skills Training Programs at WRAMC (2004 & 2007) and BAMC (2006).
Farley is an avid golfer, skier, instructor of disabled skiers, and he completed the 2005 New York City Marathon and the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon on a hand cycle. He and his wife, Kathleen Wells Farley, have four children and thirteen grandchildren. They reside in Bowie, Maryland.