Michael P. Heiskell

Mr. Michael P. Heiskell was one of the three founding partners of Johnson, Vaughn & Heiskell in 1984. He now serves as its senior attorney. He is also senior attorney with Heiskell Colston & Rousseau.

Mr. Heiskell earned a BA in political science in 1972 from Baylor University and a JD in 1974 from Baylor University School of Law. At Baylor, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (national leadership honor society), Pi Sigma Alpha (national political science honor society), Agiza Funika (black social service club), Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Society, and the Student Bar Association. He was named “Lawyer of the Year” by the Tarrant County Black Bar Association in 1995 and 2000 and received the “Presidential Award of Excellence” from the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in 1994, 1995, and 2003. In 2015 he was inducted into the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Hall of Fame, and in 2020 he received The Blackstone Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a member of the Tarrant County Bar Association. Mr. Heiskell was selected as “2022 Baylor Lawyer of the Year” by Baylor Law School.

Mr. Heiskell is a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is also a past president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and was formerly chairperson of the U.S. Court Advisory Committee for the Northern District of Texas. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers as well as a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers.

Mr. Heiskell and his wife, Anita C. Heiskell, are members of Morningside United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, and they have four children: Marin, James, Michael, Jr., and Mason.