Michele A. Ratcliffe

Litigation Counsel
Sr. Attorney

Michele A. Ratcliffe is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who offers clients more than 30 years of civil, criminal, and appellate trial experience.

Federal Prosecutor. During her tenure at the Justice Department, Mrs. Ratcliffe prosecuted a variety of cases ranging from white-collar and financial crimes to computer, internet, cybersecurity, human trafficking, counterfeit, and interstate commerce offenses. Dedicated to the unequivocal protection of children, Mrs. Ratcliffe secured more than 150 federal convictions in child exploitation prosecutions leading to her nomination by the U.S. Attorney General as the Director of Project Safe Childhood for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Client Services. Mrs. Ratcliffe’s trial history is extensive and successful. In addition to dozens of federal criminal cases, Mrs. Ratcliffe has served as lead counsel in state and federal civil jury and bench trials involving complex business litigation, corporate espionage, intellectual property infringements, insurance matters, pediatric medical malpractice, estate and trust litigation, constitutional questions, the rights of injured and traumatized children, products liability, among many others.

Education & Admission. Mrs. Ratcliffe obtained her Bachelor of Arts—summa cum laude—from Hillsdale College and her Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University. She is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Eastern, Northern, and Southern District of Texas as well as before the Supreme Court of Texas.