Bar Admissions
Supreme Court of Texas and lower Texas State Courts
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
11th Cir. Court of Appeals
Licenses
Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (P.G.)
Education
South Texas College of Law, J.D. - 1999 (Top 25% )
Texas A&M University, B.S. Geology (Engineering Option) - 1991
Honors and Awards
Two time South Texas College of Law Dean's List
Phi Delta Phi - Legal Honor Society
First Place, 1998 South Texas College of Law, Environmental Law Society Writing Competition.
Publications & Presentations
Co-author of the Environmental Contamination Treatise: Overview of the Litigation Process, Chapter 8 in When Bad Things Happen to Good Property (Robert A. Simons ed., Environmental Law Institute 2006); reprinted at Gary Mason et al., Environmental Contamination Treatise: Overview of the Litigation Process, 37 The Environmental Law Reporter, 10057 (2007).
“Ten Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Litigating Groundwater Cases”, Mealey’s Groundwater Litigation Conference, September 26-27, 2005, Marina Del Rey, California.
“No Science Allowed: Civil Courts Block Expert Testimony More Often Than Criminal Courts” Texas Lawyer, September 12, 2005.
Working with Expert Witnesses, Keys to Successful Pre-Trial Preparation in Texas, National Business Institute CLE Presentation, January 2005.
Michael Howell, An Overview of Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 5 Lex Terra 7 (2000).
Mike Howell and Leslie Barras, Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDA) Under OPA ‘90, The Inside Track, Volume 11, Radian International LLC, September 1997.
in a fight you want Mike Howell on your side
Litigation
HOWELL LAW FIRM
Mike was born in Farmington, New Mexico. His dad and granddad are both Texas natives. As a kid Mike occasionally accompanied his granddad and dad in the San Juan oil and gas field around Farmington. He and his family later moved to the oil field towns of Odessa, Texas and San Angelo, Texas with a two-year stint in Aberdeen, Scotland. When you move that much you have to prove yourself over and over again. In litigation you prove yourself with every case and need an attorney with the resolve to see each case to its best ending.
Mike graduated from San Angelo Central High School and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in Geology with an Engineering Option (essentially a Civil Engineering minor). He earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree at South Texas College of Law in Houston attending school at nights while working full-time.
Mike's law practice is 99 percent litigation and he focus that time in the areas of business litigation, commercial contract disputes, oil & gas cases, serious injury litigation, and environmental litigation. Although these provide the bulk of his litigation practice he will look at any interesting case. He has been licensed as an attorney and counselor at law in Texas since 2000. Geographically, he practices mostly in Texas, but has represented clients in cases in: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Maryland. About half of his practice has been in the Federal Courts.
Mike is a frequent presenter on groundwater and soil contamination cases and has published legal articles on litigating contamination cases, natural resource damages, and expert admissibility issues. Before becoming an attorney Mike worked for nearly a decade as an environmental consultant, dealing with groundwater, surface water, soil, and air pollution issues around the United States and in South and Central America. He is a licensed professional geologist in Texas.
His favorite cases tend to be ones where he can apply his scientific background to the case being litigated.