Mike is a trial lawyer, retired judge, and mediator who brings to the firm decades of diverse trial experience from both sides of the bench and a deep institutional knowledge of the many agencies with whom he has worked.
Mike has created and taught CLE programs that have trained thousands of lawyers on topics including CPS and child abuse, complex custody cases, ethics, expert witnesses, human trafficking, record sealing, and many more. In recognition of this work, he received the 2015 President’s Award from the Houston Bar Association.
Mike has successfully tried hundreds of jury trials as a lawyer and state district judge ranging from thorny child custody battles to capital murder. Even early in his judicial career, the Houston Chronicle praised his “demonstrated competency” in handling high-profile cases and consistently endorsed him his entire judicial career, noting, “Schneider has devoted his career to protecting children‚ both as an assistant Harris County attorney and as general counsel of Houston’s renowned Children’s Assessment Center.”
Mike joined the Harris County Attorney’s Office in 1999. He served as Chief of the 313th District Court and handled thousands of child custody cases involving the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (CPS). In 2001, he became Deputy Division Chief of the office’s Children’s Protective Division, and from 2004 until he took the bench in 2006, served as General Counsel to the world-renowned Children’s Assessment Center. In 2017, Mike was appointed Adjunct Research Scientist in the Psychology Department of Columbia University in the City of New York and in 2022 to the Board of the Center for Science and the Law.
In 2019 Mike served as a Policy Analyst for Hon. Gene Wu and became a partner at Houston’s Berg Plummer Johnson & Raval LLP and in 2024 partnered with Bill Connolly and Les Shireman to form Connolly Schneider Shireman LLP with a focus on child welfare law.
Education:
South Texas College of Law J.D., 1997
University of Texas School of Law Visiting Student, 1996
Texas A&M University B.A., Pol. Science, 1991
Professional
1999-2006 Assistant Harris County Attorney, Court Chief, Deputy Division Chief, Section Chief of Children’s Assessment Center (“CAC”), General Counsel to CAC, Harris County Attorney’s Office
2006-18 State District Judge, 315th District Court, Houston, Texas, appointed by Hon. Rick Perry
2016 Visiting Associate Justice, First Court of Appeals, Houston
2017- Adjunct Associate Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York City, New York
2019 Child Welfare Policy Analyst, for the Honorable Gene Wu, Texas House of Representatives, Austin, Texas
2019 Visiting Judge, Family District Courts of Harris County, Texas
2019- Partner, Berg Plummer Johnson & Raval LLP, Houston
LICENSED IN TEXAS AND NEW YORK
(Selected) Other Professional Activities
2001-04 Member, Child Fatality Review Team, Memorial Hermann Hospital, Houston
2001-19 Instructor, Advocacy University, Child Advocates, Houston
2002-06 Member, CAC Partnership Council, Houston
2006-18 Member and Secretary, Harris County Juvenile Board
2008-12 Member, Executive Committee, Annie E. Casey Foundation Harris County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
2010- Instructor, Healing Species Texas, Harris County, Texas
2010-18 Founding member, Harris County Public Defender Advisory Board
2010-18 Founder/Judge, Harris County Juvenile Drug Court
2011-18 Founder/Judge, Harris County Juvenile Human Trafficking Court, Creating Advocacy Resiliance and Empowerment (“CARE” formerly “GIRLS” Court)
2013- Founder/instructor, pro bono juvenile sealing program, with Houston Bar Association and University of Houston Law Center Juvenile and Capital Advocacy Program
2013- Founder/webmaster, myvoiceincourt.org, online resource for children in Texas foster care
2013-21 Council member, Officer, Juvenile Law Section, State Bar of Texas, Austin
2015-19 Secretary, Chair, Juvenile Law Section, Houston Bar Assoc.
2015-21 Commissioner, Supreme Court of Texas Children’s Commission, Austin
2016-20 Co-Chair, Youth Justice Council (My Brother’s Keeper), Houston
2017-22 Council and founding member, Child Welfare Section, State Bar of Texas, Austin
2019- Board member, The Way Home Adoption, Inc., Houston
2019-20 Chair, Juvenile Law Section, State Bar of Texas, Austin
2020- Board of directors, Center for Science and Law, Palo Alto, California
2021- Board member, Criss Cole Children’s Foundation, Houston
Professional Associations and Memberships
American Bar Association
American Leadership Forum (Senior Fellow)
Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association
Houston Bar Foundation (Life Member)
New York Bar Association
State Bar of Texas
State of New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department
Texas Bar Foundation (Life Member)
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Writings, Speeches and CLE Presentations
Legal and Professional Writings, Speeches and CLE Presentations: Judge Michael Schneider Jr. (Ret.)
“Send 17-year-olds to juvenile court,” San Antonio Express-News, March 15, 2015, with Hon. Laura Parker
“Improving foster care should include juvenile justice reforms,” Houston Chronicle, March 17, 2017
“A Second Chance,” The Houston Lawyer, March/April 2017, with Katya Dow and Brian Fischer
Co-Editor and Co-Author, Bench Book For The Texas Judiciary, Texas Center for the Judiciary, 2018