About Michelle Shelley
Michelle Shelley Behan earned her law degree from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in 2013 after completing a Bachelor of Science at Park University in 2000. She entered the bar the same year she finished law school and soon expanded the jurisdictions in which she can appear, holding admissions in Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Her academic path combined traditional legal study with prior technical training and service, setting the stage for an unconventional legal career.
Before entering private practice she spent years in public service and federal law enforcement. She enlisted in the United States Navy in 1994 as a cryptologist. Later she served as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2006. Those roles involved disciplined investigative work and technical evidence handling. She carried that experience into the legal field, where investigative instincts and attention to procedure play a frequent role.
Her formal legal career began in the office of Michael Harwin, where she worked as a law clerk and then as an associate in 2010. After law school she joined the Tucson Public Defender's Office as an assistant city public defender in 2014, handling criminal defense matters in the trial courts. She moved into private firm practice in 2015 as an associate at Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC. Two years later she became a senior partner at Behan Ramsell PLLC. In 2019 she established her own firm, Behan Law Group P.L.L.C., where she continues to practice.
Behan has concentrated much of her work on driving under the influence cases. She is board certified in DUI defense by the National College for DUI Defense and is a certified Field Sobriety Test Practitioner through NCDD and NHTSA training. She joined the faculty of the National College for DUI Defense in 2016 and has remained involved in that educational arm while practicing. She also holds memberships in the Arizona State Bar and the Pima County Bar Association.
Her career blends courtroom experience, investigative background and specific technical certifications in DUI matters. She represents clients in state and federal proceedings and has experience handling evidentiary and procedural issues that arise in impaired-driving prosecutions. She currently practices through Behan Law Group P.L.L.C., representing clients in DUI defense and related matters.
