Michelle Lea Mays

Michelle Lea Mays

4.8
Rating: 9.5

Licensed for 19 years

Criminal defense Lawyer at Austin, TX
Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Violent Crime

812 San Antonio St Ste 100, Austin, TX

About Michelle

Biography

Practice Areas

Fees and Rates

Cost

Free Consultation

$0 first 60 minutes


Payment Methods

  • Cash
  • Check
  • Credit Card

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Licenses

Licensed in Texas for 19 years

State: Texas

Acquired: 2007

Eligible to Practice in Texas

No misconduct found

Location

Law Office of Michelle Mays

812 San Antonio St Ste 100, Austin, TX, 78701-2228

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Michelle Lea Mays's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.8 /5.0

24 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (24) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 reviews | Practice Area Knowledge

Posted by Bryan | June 08, 2021 | Hired Attorney | DUI & DWI

Responsive and Professional

Michelle was extremely helpful throughout the entire process of navigating my DWI arrest. She was able to get me released immediately. She handled the documents and appearances on my behalf while keeping me informed along the way. In the end she helped get the charges dismissed and my recor...d expunged so I don't have to worry about this event impacting my future. She's the one you want on your team when navigating the legal system. I'm so grateful to have her on my side.

Posted by Manuel | May 20, 2019 | Hired Attorney | Criminal Defense

Completely AMAZING! Michelle is, without a doubt, the best lawyer you will find.

No amount of words can convey how great of a lawyer Michelle is. At the darkest time of my life, having been accused of a terrible crime that I was innocent of, Michelle stood by me and believed in me. She did a great job detailing what was going to happen, what my options were, and stuck by me for... the entire two years of the process. She kept me informed, involved, and consistently requested my feedback as to how she was doing, and for any detail that might have been missed. In addition, her skills at trial were amazing. Not only is she a gifted speaker, but she oozed confidence and was quick to counter question the prosecutors witnesses. I was, of course, scared when my trial started, but after the first day, her performance gave me the strength to keep calm, knowing Michelle was going to do an amazing job of defending me. As I had expected we were victorious!, but this was not the end. Afterwards she immediately started the process to expunge my record to make sure I could restart my life with a clean slate. Michelle is like a locomotive that keeps going and nobody is going to stop her. If you don’t hire Michelle, your throwing away one of, if not, THE best lawyers you will ever find.

Posted by Brent Ford | December 09, 2016 | Hired Attorney | DUI & DWI

ABOVE AND BEYOND!!!

As with most legal matters mine starts with "it's a long story" so I'll spare you the details and give it to you straight...I cannot say enough good things about my experience with Michelle Mays! After a 3 and a half year nightmare of a dwi case and 3 attorneys to whom I paid THOUSANDS of dollars to,... I found myself abandoned by my attorney, who's laughing all the way to the bank about right now, because I was late on my final payment because I lost my job last month. Lucky for me the judge appointed Michelle to represent me! NEVER throughout this entire process have I been treated with as much respect and professionalism as displayed by Michelle Mays! Within 5 min of meeting me she knew details of my case that my lawyer didn't bother to learn over the course of months...and she owed me absolutely nothing... I never paid her a dime! I feel duped, swindled, screwed...whatever you wanna call it by the others that seemingly only wanted to draw out this ordeal and rack up more legal fees. My only regret is not meeting her sooner and giving HER all of that money that I paid for representation. Thank you Michelle! You're the real deal in a land of phonies! I hope I never need an attorney again but if I do I know exactly where to look!

Posted by A | November 29, 2016 | Hired Attorney | Domestic Violence

Michelle's the best in town

I hired Michelle after my first lawyer completely dropped the ball on my domestic violence case. So I was already weary and wary of lawyers; Michelle had been recommended by a good friend. 1) She is a good soul and during my phone consult, I immediately felt like she "got" me and my case, and pointed... out some obvious flaws with the way my first lawyer had handled the case (albeit very politely). So I could also tell how sharp she was. She is really straightforward and honest, but very caring and compassionate. 2) We hired her on a Thursday and by Friday of the following week the case was dismissed. I felt I had a strong case for dismissal the entire time (arrest was totally bogus) but my original lawyer had bungled their way through 6 months of setbacks, when Michelle got the job done in a week. I was truly shocked, having prepared for a long battle. 3) She was sympathetic regarding finances, and made it as easy as possible to pay her. 4) She kept me updated every step of the way, even following dismissal. I received almost daily email updates and when there was something important she'd call or text. 5) I can't praise her enough. She gave what had been a nightmare of a year for me, as pleasant an ending as possible. She's super savvy, extremely bright, trustworthy, honest, and gets the job done with grace and confidence. I would absolutely recommend her!

Posted by Greg | May 27, 2015 | Criminal Defense

Someone I could really trust!

It's not often I've found myself in life needing an attorney, especially a criminal attorney so when I found myself in a place where I needed one I was honestly scared out of my wits. Fortunately, I had the honor of meeting Michelle about a year or so prior and gave her a call. From the very first... call Michelle made me feel both HUMAN, and that she really did care about me and the situation I was in. There were times during the process where I had some difficult and scary decisions to make that she gave me advice that, had I not followed would have most certainly played against me. She was super-knowledgeable about the laws surrounding my case, potential pitfalls and did the right things at the right time, which ultimately led to a complete dismissal of the assault charges filed against me. I am so grateful to have met Michelle and that I called on her at my time of need and would never hesitate calling on her again if (God forbid) I should find myself in need of her services again. Furthermore I HIGHLY recommend that anyone needing the legal services she offers give her a call, you won't regret your hiring this pro!

See All Client Reviews

Michelle Lea Mays's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Michelle
Erin Stephanie Shinn headshot
Erin Shinn

Criminal defense lawyer | Aug 27

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Michelle works hard for every client she represents and fights to get the best result. I saw her achieve four felony dismissals in one morning last week! She knows what she is doing and is a professional at all times. I fully endorse her services."

John Lounsbury Wise headshot
John Wise

Criminal defense lawyer | Apr 03

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"Michelle is an excellent lawyer. I have known her since working with her in law school at the University of Texas School of Law. She has achieved great results for her clients over the years through both negotiation as well as trial and is on the short list of criminal defense attorneys I would refer friends and family to in Austin."

Kenneth M. Gibson headshot
Kenneth Gibson

Criminal defense lawyer | Jun 10

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I endorse this lawyer. Michelle does a great job on her cases. She is very thorough in her representation, and I have the utmost respect for her."

James Robert John Spencer headshot
James Spencer

Criminal defense lawyer | Jun 02

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"A criminal defense lawyer needs two things: (1) a good knowledge of the law, and how to use it to their client's advantage and (2) a good personality, so that when they're dealing with prosecutors and judges they get excellent results. Michelle has both in spades, and I highly recommend her."

Gabriella C. Young headshot
Gabriella Young

Criminal defense lawyer | Jun 02

Relationship: Supervised lawyer

"Michelle and I worked together for roughly 4 years. She is smart, hardworking, and loyal. Eager to learn, Michelle took on any task asked of her. She is well liked by her peers and the judges throughout Austin. Michelle has wonderful presence in a court room and has a fierce cross-examination technique of witnesses. Her desire to fight for her clients made her easy and fun to work with throughout the years. I hold her opinion very highly and would turn to her for help anytime I needed it."

View All Endorsements
Erin Stephanie Shinn headshot
Erin Shinn

Criminal defense lawyer

John Lounsbury Wise headshot
John Wise

Criminal defense lawyer

James Robert John Spencer headshot
James Spencer

Criminal defense lawyer

Kenneth M. Gibson headshot
Kenneth Gibson

DUI and DWI lawyer

Gabriella C. Young headshot
Gabriella Young

Criminal defense lawyer

Experience

Rating:  9.5 (Superb)

Honors

2019

Top Attorney, Attorney.com

2017

10 Best, American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys

2016

Client's Choice, Avvo

Work Experience

2014 - Present

Staff Attorney, Capital Area Private Defender Service

2013 - Present

Attorney, Law Office of Michelle Mays

2006 - 2013

Attorney, Law Office of Ken Gibson

2005 - 2005

Clerk, United States District Court, Western District of Washington, The Honorable Barbara Jacobs Rothstein

2004 - 2004

Law Clerk, Alaska Public Defender Agency

Associations

2018 - Present

Travis County Project Engage

Supervising Attorney

2015 - Present

Texas Law Expunction Project

Supervising Attorney

2014 - Present

Capital Area Private Defender Service

Attorney

2007 - Present

Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

Member

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Member

State Bar of Texas

Member

Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

Member

Education

2006

University of Texas School of Law

Doctor of Jurisprudence/Juris Doctor (J.D.)

2006

University of Sydney Law School

Exchange Student

2002

University of Texas, Austin

Bachelor of Journalism

Speaking Engagements

2014

ALR Seminar

ALRs

Languages

English

Avvo Rating

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