Michael is a civil rights trial lawyer with extensive experience investigating and litigating excessive force and public corruption cases. He is the leader of Shook’s national civil rights and racial justice pro bono practice. Michael has broad trial experience; he has tried more than 50 cases, including 30 first-chair jury trials. His trial experience includes cases of official oppression, aggravated assault by a public servant, sexual assault and murder.
For eight years before joining Shook, Michael was an Assistant District Attorney & Chief Prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston. In that role, he had oversight of all phases of civil rights prosecution, including crime scene investigations, grand jury proceedings, discovery and jury trials. Michael’s civil rights experience includes cases of official bribery, tampering, inmate abuse, officer-involved shootings, abuse of force and in-custody deaths. His work as a prosecutor resulted in several high profile indictments and convictions in civil rights cases.
Michael currently leads Shook’s effort to provide clients who have been deprived of a constitutional right with the same experienced, high level advocacy that Shook has provided its corporate clients for decades. Through the civil rights practice, Michael provides Shook lawyers with training and guidance on issues of civil rights law, investigation skills and litigation strategies. From large-scale investigations of prisoner abuse, to assisting local clients get a fresh start through record expungements, Shook’s civil rights and racial justice practice is dedicated to making an impact in communities across the country.
In addition to his success investigating and litigating civil rights matters, Michael is an adjunct professor of law at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law where he lectures on civil rights legislation and enforcement.
Publications and Presentations
Speaker, Civil Rights & Capital Punishment, TMSL Law Review Symposium: Facing The Ultimate Penalty, March 20, 2025.
Speaker, Executive Orders & Civil Rights, National Black Law Student Association Town Hall, February 17, 2025.
Panelist, The State of Black Civil Rights, TMSL Civil Rights Society, February 13, 2025.
Organizer & Presenter, Impacting Injustice, Shook Civil Rights & Racial Justice Webinar, November 6, 2024.
Presenter, Working with Pro Bono Counsel, Houston Bar Association AMOS Workshop, August 6, 2024.
Presenter, Introduction to Civil Rights Litigation, Update of the Law CLE Webinar, June 6, 2024.
Presenter, Civil Rights Legislation and §1983, Houston Paralegal Association CLE Conference, May 17, 2024.
Moderator, How to Build a Pro Bono Civil Rights & Racial Justice Practice, APBCo at Equal Justice Conference, May 8, 2024.
Presenter, Black History Through the Law, Black History Month Webinar, February 29, 2024.
Panelist, Promoting Equality: Examining Pro Bono Power in Civil Rights, Immigration and Racial Justice, Houston Young Lawyers Association, August 15, 2023.
Panelist, Civil Rights and Wrongful Convictions, Symposium on Convictions and Sentencing, Sam Houston State University, March 31, 2023.
Co-Author, Investigating Officer-Involved Shootings, The Texas Prosecutor, Summer 2021.
Co-Author, Handling Excessive Force and Police Brutality Cases, The Texas Prosecutor, Spring 2021.
Presenter, Civil Rights Investigations, Friendswood Police Department, September 22, 2020.
Presenter, Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations, Fort Bend Independent School District Police Department, June 6 and 13, 2019.
Presenter, Preparing Your Case for Trial, CLE, Harris County District Attorney’s Office, March 28, 2018.
Presenter, Investigation, Negotiation and Prosecution, Houston Community College, March 1, 2018.