For the past two years, Michael Berry has served as the Director of Career Development at Baylor Law School. Always looking for a challenge, he made the decision to walk away from a lucrative career as a pharmacist with an east Texas medical center and opted to follow the legal profession.

1. Feature
Michael Berry, Director, Career Development at Baylor Law School
By Donna McGill
For the past two years, Michael Berry has served as the Director of Career Development at Baylor Law School. Always looking for a
challenge, he made the decision to walk away from a lucrative career as a pharmacist with an east Texas medical center and opted to
follow the legal profession. Keep reading as we learn about the journey that led Director Berry to the doors of Baylor Law School.
It’s unlikely Michael Berry was sentimentality attached, which is evident as Berry speaks of
thinking about law school when he his new role, ‘’I have worked with Baylor lawyers throughout
was accepted into The University my career and have always been impressed by them’’.
of Texas at Austin in 1972. His
major then was Pharmacy. After His recognitions and awards are impressive. Honored in ‘’The
graduating from UT with honors, Best Lawyers in America’’ in 2009 for Injury Litigation and
he set out to build his career in both 2007 and 2009, in Product Liability Litigation, as a
with a focus more towards the medical profession. And an ‘’Texas Super Lawyer’’ four years in a row, between 2004 and
impressive career is exactly what he built. Soon, however, the 2008 and in 2005, he was honored as ‘’Mentor of the Year’’ by
law sector beckoned. his peers at his former firm, Thompson & Knight. Many may
know Thompson & Knight for its own awards, including being
In 1984, Berry enrolled at The University of Texas School honored for its pro bono efforts and more recently, it was
of Law. After graduating, he immediately went to work for honored with the 2010 Mexican - Labour and Employment Law
Thompson & Knight, LLP in Dallas. This prestigious firm is Firm of the Year. It stands to reason Berry would be associated
where Berry, a senior partner in the Trial Section, called home with such noble efforts.
for more than two decades, until, of course, Baylor Law School
came calling. Interestingly, Berry credits his recognition as Mentor of the
Year as what brought him to where he is now. He says he’s
In his role as the Director of Career Development, Berry’s first always taken pride in mentoring younger lawyers as they
task was to revamp the recruiting and marketing efforts at find their own ways in the legal profession. Acknowledging it
the school. He focused on both potential employers and the can be a tough transition, especially in a difficult economy,
counseling services of the school. While Berry didn’t graduate Berry knew he needed to find a way to make it his life’s work.
from Baylor, his uncle did. Further, he participated in the ‘’My goal for this position is to be an effective and respected
school’s summer debate workshops as a teen in high school. advocate for Baylor Law Students...’’. He has certainly met his
Keeping it in the family, Berry’s nephew, Chris Berry, was on goal. He is both well liked and deeply respected both by the
the school’s baseball team coaching staff. Clearly, there is student body and the law firms he works with on a daily basis.
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