Don Michael Clifford Barbour

DonMichael Barbour is a Senior Associate in Tully Rinckey PLLC’s Austin office, where he primarily practices Military Law.

DonMichael graduated early from high school in 1995, in order to enlist in the U.S. Army at 17 years old. He served on active duty a field artillery soldier for three years. After completing his enlistment, DonMichael then transitioned to a Reserve unit while he attended college at St. Mary’s University, where he was appointed as a cadet into the ROTC. After graduating from St. Mary’s with a bachelor’s degree in business, DonMichael was presented a commission into the U.S. Army JAG Corps in 2003, and attended Thurgood Marshall School of Law, graduating summa cum laude.. He also served for two years as a clerk to Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, who is now on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. In 2006, he began his service as an officer in the JAG Corps.

Serving as a military attorney on active duty for nine years, DonMichael gained extensive litigation experience, leading hundreds of thorough investigations and successfully defending against the highest charges, including capital murders, espionage, and sexual assaults. DonMichael himself, as well as the teams of legal professionals he led, consistently provided excellent representation, timely and accurate legal advice, and outstanding results to soldiers and military leaders. His career spanned all aspects of military law, including military trial prosecution, criminal defense, operational law, administrative law, and investigations into commanders and staff. For his time in service to the U.S. Army, DonMichael earned numerous honors, including being awarded the Army Meritorious Service Medal.

Upon retiring from the U.S. Army, DonMichael served for three years as an Assistant District Attorney for Dallas County, prosecuting criminal offenses and overseeing ten local courts. DonMichael sorely missed serving military members, and so he chose to pivot and dedicate his career to non-profit work, providing pro bono and reduced-fee legal assistance to active-duty military members, veterans, and their families. His areas of practice included criminal defense in courts-martial and state level offenses, applications for discharge review, VA claims and disability assistance, and family law and CPS cases. DonMichael’s experience and desire to help service members eventually led him to create a non-profit called the Veterans Legal Foundation, in Dallas, Texas, providing representation to qualifying veterans and their family members.