Luis Midence

Criminal defense attorney Luis Midence attended law school at South Texas College of where he also worked for Senator John Whitmire of Houston (chair of criminal justice committee in the State Legislature).  It was also during this time that Luis Midence had the honor of interning for Federal District Court Judge David Hittner, Federal Judge in the Southern District of Texas. Shortly after being licensed in the state of Texas, Luis Midence accepted a position with the Travis County District Attorney’s office in Austin, Texas.

While in the Travis County DA’s criminal trial division he served as a juvenile prosecutor as well as assistant DA in the 331^st Criminal District Court where Luis Midence prosecuted everything from state jail felony drug cases to first degree aggravated assault on a peace officer and aggravated sexual assaults.  After trying and almost 90% of his jury trials in the 331^st Criminal District court Luis Midence was placed in a special division of the DA’s office which specialized in trying difficult and complicated white collar cases involving everything from toxic waste dumping to violations by police officers. In all, Luis Midence tried dozens of jury and bench trials in Travis County before moving into private practice.

After leaving the Travis County District Attorney’s office, Luis Midence has been in private practice in Harris County (Houston), Texas.  Luis Midence currently focuses solely on criminal law so that he can devote his full attention to the unique legal issues that exists in our criminal courts.

Matt Skillern

Matt Skillern is a founding partner at Midence & Skillern.  He is licensed to practice law by the Supreme Court of Texas. Mr. Skillern has achieved outstanding results for clients in a wide variety of criminal and family law matters.  Also, he has established a reputation as a trial lawyer who will fight for his clients.

Mr. Skillern is a member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Ft. Bend County Bar Association .

He began his legal career as a prosecutor with the Smith County District Attorney’s Office in Tyler, Texas in 2003. He compiled an excellent trial record.  Prior to founding Midence & Skillern, Mr. Skillern worked as an associate to one of Houston’s premier criminal defense firms.  Mr. Skillern has completed Continuing Legal Education in topics ranging from trial skills to Driving while Intoxicated. He has also lectured other attorneys on Driving while Intoxicated and has served as an assistant course director for the Annual Top Gun DWI Seminar and the Advanced Trial Series by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

Mr. Skillern was recently selected as a Rising Star by the Texas Super Lawyers Magazine.  This is a distinction awarded to the top attorneys under 40.  Only 2.5% of all lawyers in the State of Texas are selected as Rising Stars.  Also, Mr. Skillern currently maintains a 10.0 superb rating by www.avvvo.com

In The State of Texas v. $469,760.00, Mr. Skillern was able to save $117,000.00 from government forfeiture in a criminal asset seizure case.

In an aggravated sexual assault case, an over-confident prosecutor told Mr. Skillern to have his client bring a toothbrush to trial because he was not going home.  During jury selection, the prosecutor passed a note to Mr. Skillern offering 10 years in prison.  Mr. Skillern cross-examined the lead Detective and the Accuser on the second day of trial. The next morning the prosecutor dismissed the case due to the clear innocence of Mr. Skillern’s client.  Mr. Skillern watched his client walk out of the courthouse with his wife and young child, to go home.

Education

Mr. Skillern earned his juris doctorate degree from South Texas College of Law. As a law student, he was a member of the Law Review, the Dean’s List and a recipient of the South Texas Merit Scholarship. Mr. Skillern earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Baylor University.

Personal

Matt Skillern was born in Houston, Texas. He attended Stafford high school were he was a member of the National Honor Society, captain of the football and baseball teams, and a member of the varsity basketball team. He enjoys sporting events, fishing and spending time with family and friends.

Michael Nguyen

Graduate of St. Mary’s University in 1999 with a Doctorate of Jurisprudence, his main area of focus is in criminal law