Michael Truesdale

Experience

For over thirty years, Mike has prosecuted and defended cases in appellate courts throughout Texas and across the country. As a part of his appellate practice, Mike also works with trial lawyers in high-profile cases to preserve errors by leading briefing and presenting arguments on issues with appellate implications. He has served as counsel in numerous cases and has argued before the Supreme Court of Texas and the majority of the fourteen Texas intermediate courts of appeals. And in addition to authoring briefs in multiple United States Supreme Court cases, Mike has led appeals and argued before various Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, including the Federal, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Circuits, led appeals in other state courts, including Michigan, and has briefed cases in other federal circuit, district, and bankruptcy courts across the country and other state courts of appeals. Mike also regularly represents parties interested in issues pending on appeal by filing amicus briefs, often side-by-side with other national counsel, in high-profile appellate cases in state and federal courts. 

Mike is a frequent speaker and author on substantive issues, appellate practice, ethics, and attorney wellness, and actively advocates for the development and expansion of appellate pro bono programs across Texas and the nation.

A complete CV is found here.

Awards & Recognition

Mike has been Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Appellate Law since 2008. He has received the highest ranking, AV Preeminent, Peer Review Rated, by Martindale Hubbell since 2005, and has been recognized as a “Texas Super Lawyer” in Appellate Law every year since 2009. Mike received the 2015 Texas Tech School of Law Daniel H. Benson Public Service Award, presented to an alumnus “who has demonstrated significant and substantial contributions to furthering ideals of public service in the law”. In law school he received the George and Sarah Dupree Award, given annually “[t]o the member of the graduating class who, in the opinion of his colleagues, best exemplifies the ability, the integrity, and sense of professional responsibility desired in one soon to join the legal profession.”

Publications/Presentations

Mike is a frequent author/speaker not only on substantive areas of law and trends in appellate courts, but on issues of legal ethics, pro bono appellate representation, and lawyer wellness. He has also appeared on podcasts and as a webinar speaker discussing state and national appellate pro bono programs and on attorney wellness issues. Some of his most recent publications/presentations include:

• Michael S. Truesdale and Seana Willing, The Grievance Process:  You Don’t Know what you Don’t Know, (State Bar of Texas 40^th Litigation Update Institute, 2024) (reprinted in “Best of 2024” edition of The Advocate)
• Michael S. Truesdale, Panelist, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Emerging Ethics Issues, (State Bar of Texas Environmental Natural Resources Law Section, Environmental Law Superconference, 2023)
• Michael S. Truesdale and Seana Willing, What Texas Lawyers Need to Know about the Texas Grievance Process,
  – Part One: Classification and Investigation (Texas Bar Journal, Nov. 2022)
  – Part Two: Litigation (Texas Bar Journal, Dec. 2022)
  – Part Three: Avoiding Common Violations (Texas Bar Journal, Jan. 2023)
• Michael S. Truesdale, Most Common Violations Facing Lawyers, (State Bar of Texas Oil and Gas Disputes, 2022)
• Michael S. Truesdale and Marla Broaddus, Arbitration Update, (UT, Austin, Texas, 2022)
• Michael S. Truesdale, Panelist, Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Update, (UT, San Antonio, Texas, 2022)
• Michael S. Truesdale, Guest, Texas Appellate Law Podcast (December 2021)
• Michael S. Truesdale, Entirely Appealing: How Pro Bono Passions Can Be Transformative, (UT, Austin, Texas, 2019) (moderator/panelist)

A complete list of publications is found here.

Community Service

• Oregon State Bar, Appellate Practice Section, Executive Committee, 2024 (Pro Bono Committee Chair)
• Oregon State Bar House of Delegates, Delegate, 2024
• Texas Lawyers Assistance Program, Volunteer, 2022-present
• Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline, 2019-present (current vice-chair)
• Supreme Court of Texas, Program Liaison, Pro Bono Program, 2011-2023
• State Bar of Texas, Civil Appellate Section Chair, 2017-18

Personal

Mike loves the practice of law, and when he isn’t working on briefs, he spends his time working on his 27+ year old truck, building furniture, or doing anything possible with power tools.  He is an enthusiastic (but slow) long-distance cyclist.  But his hands-down favorite free-time activities–when the ski areas are closed–are looking for the next new greatest band or watching rugby matches with his wife and two grown sons (who are far better skiers, musicians, and rugby players than he ever was despite his claims to the contrary).