Barrett graduated in 2008—summa cum laude, with honors, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa—with a BA in Economics, a BS in Political Science, and a minor in History. While at Iowa, he was elected President of the undergraduate student government, President of his fraternity (Phi Kappa Psi), and Captain of Iowa’s nationally-ranked mock trial program. He was awarded the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion for his service to the University.

After he graduated, Barrett interned in 2008 with the office of Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa and in 2009 at the White House under President Barack Obama. Barrett continued his education at Yale Law School, where he received the school’s top award for trial advocacy, contributed to the YLS Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic, and worked as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. After he received his law degree in 2012, Barrett served as a Heyman Federal Public Service Fellow with the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and as a law clerk for the Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson III on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He practiced law for three years at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC, before moving with his husband to San Diego, CA, in 2017.

Barrett is currently an Associate at Cooley LLP, where his practice includes litigating disputes involving constitutional law, commercial claims, and intellectual property. Barrett also maintains a robust pro bono practice with a special focus on advocating for disadvantaged LGBT.