Michelle Simpson Tuegel is a criminal trial attorney whose practice is focused on the defense of people accused of misdemeanors and serious felonies in state and federal courts. Michelle practices with her law partner Russ Hunt Sr. in the Waco/Central Texas area. Michelle has tried a number of high-profile capital murder cases, and she regularly tries sexual assault cases, aggravated robbery, and state and federal drug cases. Michelle also regularly represents college and university students accused of crimes, and she has developed an interest in representing students in the university process who are accused of sexual misconduct under Title IX. Michelle is among the youngest attorneys in Texas who are capital murder second-chair qualified, and she has represented numerous clients facing the death penalty at trial.
Michelle is actively involved with the Mission Waco Legal Aid Clinic and serves on the advisory board of the legal clinic. She also serves on the Board of the Central Texas African American Chamber of Commerce, and the Executive Committee of the Baylor Law School Alumni Association. Michelle is a regular guest lecturer at Baylor Law School, and she has coached the Baylor Law School mock trial team. She has presented at Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer Seminars, regularly speaks to local community organizations, and she has testified as an expert in capital death penalty habeas litigation in the area of jury selection and mitigation evidence. Michelle is a Life Member of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, an active member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, a member of the McLennan County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, a member of the Judge Abner V. McCall American Inn of Court Chapter, and a graduate of the Texas Criminal Trial College. She was named to The National Trial Lawyers Top Trial Lawyers list, and to the Texas Super Lawyers “Rising Star” list in 2015 and 2016.
Michelle Simpson Tuegel received her Doctor of Jurisprudence with a concentration in Criminal Practice from Baylor Law School, where she was on the mock trial team, and volunteered with the Baylor Law School Innocence Project. Michelle completed her undergraduate education at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Michelle spent a semester working for Amnesty International UK in London in Amnesty’s Parliamentary section. Michelle is also a former world-class athlete who was ranked third in the world and first in the United States in the sport of women’s slalom water skiing. Michelle won the International Water Ski Federation Women’s Slalom World Cup Title in 2005 in Northern Ireland.
Michelle grew up in the small town of Bridgeport, Texas. Michelle holds dual citizenship with the United States and Switzerland. She is the oldest of three girls, and both of her sisters (Maryssa Simpson and Mackenzie Simpson Wallace) are practicing civil attorneys in Dallas, Texas. Michelle now lives in Waco, Texas with her husband Andrew Tuegel, who is a plaintiff’s attorney in Waco with the law firm of Harrison, Davis, Steakley, and Morrison.
