Michael L. Harrison

Michael is a civil rights trial lawyer with extensive experience investigating and litigating excessive force and public corruption cases. He is the leader of Shook’s national civil rights and racial justice pro bono practice. Michael has broad trial experience; he has tried more than 50 cases, including 30 first-chair jury trials. His trial experience includes cases of official oppression, aggravated assault by a public servant, sexual assault and murder.

For eight years before joining Shook, Michael was an Assistant District Attorney & Chief Prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston. In that role, he had oversight of all phases of civil rights prosecution, including crime scene investigations, grand jury proceedings, discovery and jury trials. Michael’s civil rights experience includes cases of official bribery, tampering, inmate abuse, officer-involved shootings, abuse of force and in-custody deaths. His work as a prosecutor resulted in several high profile indictments and convictions in civil rights cases. 

Michael currently leads Shook’s effort to provide clients who have been deprived of a constitutional right with the same experienced, high level advocacy that Shook has provided its corporate clients for decades. Through the civil rights practice, Michael provides Shook lawyers with training and guidance on issues of civil rights law, investigation skills and litigation strategies. From large-scale investigations of prisoner abuse, to assisting local clients get a fresh start through record expungements, Shook’s civil rights and racial justice practice is dedicated to making an impact in communities across the country.

In addition to his success investigating and litigating civil rights matters, Michael is an adjunct professor of law at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law where he lectures on civil rights legislation and enforcement.