Ben Michael is the Founder and Managing Partner of Michael & Associates Criminal Defense Attorneys. He has practiced criminal defense in Austin for more than a decade and personally defended hundreds of clients across Travis County and the surrounding central Texas courts. His caseload focuses on the charges that most often upend ordinary lives: DWI, assault, domestic violence, drug possession, theft, and other types of serious felonies.
Credentials and Recognition
Selected to the Texas Super Lawyers / Rising Stars list (2026), Thomson Reuters — peer-reviewed and independently researched
"Superb" 10.0/10.0 rating on Avvo, the highest rating Avvo issues
Client Champion Platinum, Martindale-Hubbell (2025) — based on quantity and quality of verified client reviews
Client's Choice, Avvo — based on verified client reviews
Top-Rated on Justia
Named to America's Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys (2026)
Recognized for Professional Involvement (2026), Lawyer Legion
Member, National College of DUI Defense Lawyers
Member, The National Trial Lawyers
Career Journey
Ben grew up the son of a defense attorney. From an early age he knew defending the accused was his calling.
After graduating from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, he returned to his hometown of Austin to join the state's largest criminal defense firm. Within a few years of practicing, he earned a reputation around the Travis County courthouse as "Mr. Dismissal" — a nickname for his ability to get seemingly unwinnable cases dismissed. As his reputation grew, he was recruited to a prominent Austin boutique firm, where he continued to grow his reputation and refine his craft as a trial attorney.
Despite the early success, Ben could not ignore that the criminal defense system was broken. He had seen it first-hand.
High-volume firms had no real quality control — only pressure to push case files through. Good lawyers and bad lawyers worked side by side, and there was no incentive whatsoever to do a good job.
The “big name” boutique firms — surprisingly — weren’t much better. Senior attorneys spent the majority of their hours on administrative work — billing, intake, staffing, scheduling, vendor management — and on the road, driving between a dozen different counties to keep enough cases on the books to make ends meet. The actual defense work, more often than not, was delegated to junior associates.
Ben believed that both of those models failed the client, and didn’t deliver the level of service, accountability, and personalized attention each client deserves.
That is why Ben founded Michael & Associates.
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
City of Lometa Police Chief Melissa Cantu has been cleared of all charges in a high-profile case that showcased deep-rooted issues within City Hall in Lometa, Texas, and exposed the ugly side of small-town corruption., 2024Adrien Thomas Found Not Guilty in 2021 Fatal Auto-Pedestrian Collision, 2021Michael & Associates announces that its defense in a high-profile hit and run case ended in a mistrial for its client due to a hung jury., 2025
Representative Clients
Demetrius Jones, charged with murder in connection with the 2021 shooting death of Francine Martinez, a Fort Hood soldier who was shot outside a Killeen nightclub., 2024Sameh Chami, a Houston-area Uber driver who was wrongfully accused in a high-profile kidnapping case., 2025
John Reese Hutka, against police allegations of aggravated assault against a public servant during a welfare check in September., 2024
AV Preeminent®: The highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank him
or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.
Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. This rating indicates the attorney is widely
respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.
Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards.
