Michelle M. Cheng

Michelle Cheng joined the personal injury attorneys at Whitehurst, Harkness, Brees & Cheng, P.C. in 1996. She grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota and received her undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering in 1992 from the University of Michigan. After college, Michelle escaped the cold weather by coming to Austin to work as an engineer at Motorola, where she designed engine controller chips for Ford automobiles. She soon decided that she wanted a career in which she could work more closely with people, however, and left Motorola to attend the University of Texas School of Law.

Ms. Cheng represents injured persons and their families in cases involving medical malpractice, birth injuries, product liability, automobile and trucking accidents, and other serious personal injuries and wrongful death. She is also a certified mediator. In 2006, the Austin Young Lawyers Association named her Outstanding Young Lawyer of Austin. The Travis County Women Lawyers Association awarded her their Litigation Award in 2004, and she has been named a Texas Super Lawyer and a Texas Rising Star by Texas Monthly magazine.

Ms. Cheng enjoys staying active in the community and currently serves on the Texas Access to Justice Commission, where she is Chair of the Technology Committee. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Capital Area AIDS Legal Project and the Austin Bar Association Litigation Section, and previously served as Chair of both groups. In addition, Michelle currently serves on the governing Council for the Austin Asian-American Bar Association.

Ms. Cheng previously served on the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas, on the Board of Editors for the Texas Bar Journal, and on the Board of Directors for the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association. From 2004-2006, she sat on the Board of Directors of the Austin Bar Association, receiving their Outstanding Director award in 2006 and their Outstanding Committee Chair Award in 2005. Ms. Cheng also served on the Board of Directors of the Austin Young Lawyers Association and received their Outstanding Director Award in 2004.

Michelle is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Austin and is a member of a number of other organizations, including the American Association for Justice, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the State Bar of Texas. In her free time, she seeks out culinary adventure for her food blog.

Ms. Cheng has been admitted to practice before the State Bar of Texas; the United States District Courts, Western District of Texas; and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

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