Michael Brennan is an authority on the three-strikes law and the death penalty, as well as criminal defense and appeals.

A specialist in clinical legal education, Brennan co-directed the Post-Conviction Justice Project and taught Trial Advocacy. He was the directing attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance before teaching at USC Gould School of Law and then Emory University. He also served as deputy federal public defender and as a partner in Balaban, Stern and Brennan before returning to USC Law in 1984.

Brennan received his BA and LLB from the UC Berkeley. He is a member of the Federal Bar Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He previously chaired the Federal Indigent Defense Panel Selection Committee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California, served as a member of the LACBA Judicial Evaluation Committee, consulted for the National Legal Services Training Program and was a member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.