About Michael J.
Michael J. deBarros arrived at law through a steady, practical course of study and early courtroom exposure. He earned a B.S. from Louisiana State University in 2005 and a J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU in 2009. Those years produced a string of clerkships and research appointments that shaped his approach to litigation and appellate work.
While still in law school he served as a law clerk for the Louisiana State Senate and worked as a research assistant for the law center's Legal Research & Writing Department. He assisted Professor Lee Ann Lockridge on research projects in 2008. In 2009 he undertook judicial extern and clerk roles at the Louisiana Supreme Court and in the federal judiciary, serving under Justice John L. Weimer and Chief Judge Ralph E. Tyson, respectively.
After graduation he moved into private practice and specialized roles. In 2011 he worked as a patent litigation associate at the Albritton Law Office. In 2012 he spent time as a judicial law clerk for Justice Nkabinde at the Constitutional Court of South Africa. That mix of domestic and international judicial experience preceded his association with Kean Miller LLP, where he is listed as a partner.
DeBarros is licensed in both Louisiana and Texas. He is also admitted to practice before several federal tribunals, including the U.S. District Courts for the Middle, Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana, the Eastern District of Texas, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Those admissions reflect work that crosses state and federal lines and exposes him to complex procedure in multiple forums.
His resume shows a combination of patent litigation work and a substantial record of clerkships at appellate and constitutional levels. That background gives him familiarity with appellate briefing and the procedural demands of both state supreme courts and federal courts. Colleagues describe him as methodical in preparing records and steady in courtroom settings.
He holds memberships in a number of professional associations, including the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, the Wex S. Malone American Inn of Court, and the Constitutional Court Clerks Alumni Association. Those affiliations mirror the mix of trial, appellate and academic work found on his résumé.
He practices from Kean Miller LLP and handles litigation across state and federal courts, combining experience in patent matters with broader civil and appellate litigation. He maintains a litigation practice that includes patent matters and federal- and state-court litigation.
