Taylor Porter Partner Mike Walsh Inducted as Fellow in American College of Trial Lawyers

September 30, 2020

Taylor Porter Partner and Executive Committee Member Mike Walsh was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), one of the premier legal associations in North America, composed of preeminent members of the Trial Bar, and limited to just 1 percent of the total lawyer population of any state.

The induction ceremony at which Walsh became a Fellow was held online Sept. 23 before an audience of 670 Fellows during the 2020 ACTL Annual Meeting, Induction Ceremony, and 70th Anniversary Celebration of the College. Walsh (middle of photo) is pictured with current Taylor Porter attorneys
Skip Philips, left, and Mike Parker, right – ACTL Fellows. Walsh was inducted this year along with fellow Baton Rouge attorney Darrel Papillion, member of Walters Papillion Thomas Cullens.   

Walsh becomes the 12th Taylor Porter attorney to be inducted as an ACTL Fellow, joining the names of fellow Taylor Porter attorneys: Cyrus J. Greco, W. Shelby McKenzie, Frank W. Middleton, Jr., John Michael Parker, Harry J. “Skip” Philips, Jr., Charles W. Phillips, Tom F. Phillips, John R. Tharp, Robert Vandaworker, Gerald L. Walter, Jr., and W. Arthur Abercrombie, Jr.

There are 5,800 Fellows across the U.S. and Canada, and fellowship is extended only by invitation, after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years of trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship. The ACTL College maintains and seeks to improve the standards of trial practice, professionalism, ethics, and the administration of justice through education and public statements on independence of the judiciary, trial by jury, respect for the rule of law, access to justice, and fair and just representation of all parties to legal proceedings. The College is thus able to speak with a balanced voice on important issues affecting the legal profession and the administration of justice.

Walsh has been practicing law for 37 years, representing individual and corporate clients in complex criminal and civil litigation and enforcement cases throughout the country. His practice, which includes a variety of grand jury and trial matters, involves public corruption, antitrust, healthcare, False Claims Act, Lacey Act, environmental matters, construction law, and alcoholic beverage licensing and related enforcement issues. Walsh represents lawyers, law firms, and judges in disciplinary proceedings, malpractice matters, professional liability claims and ethics violations, and he is a frequent lecturer on ethics, professionalism, and litigation skills, instructing prosecutors, defenders and federal investigators on professional liability and ethics, both internationally (Austria, Canada), and nationally (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, California).

Walsh has been selected by his peers in Best Lawyers in America® as the “Criminal Defense: General Practice Lawyer of the Year” in both 2016 and 2020, and he has been selected by his peers among Louisiana Super Lawyers in Criminal Defense Law.


Walsh chairs the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Criminal Law Section. By approval of the Louisiana Supreme Court, he serves as judge pro tempore of the East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court. He is a member of the MDLA Magistrate Selection Committee, and was formerly on the committee to screen the Parish Attorney's committee. Walsh formerly served as president of the Baton Rouge Bar Association and the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Walsh previously served as chairman of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, having been appointed to that position by Chief Justice Katherine D. Kimball.

Walsh graduated from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1983. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from LSU in 1979. Before attending LSU, Walsh served in the United States Army as a military policeman having graduated from the United States Military Police School.

Walsh is an adjunct professor of law at Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where he teaches a course on Professional Responsibility and Ethics, and he is a frequent lecturer on ethics, professionalism, and litigation skills.


Walsh is active in the Baton Rouge community, having served as chairman of the Baton Rouge Battered Women’s Program during the time period in which it acquired its present shelter, and he has served as a member of the executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America, Istrouma Council.  He is active in the Catholic Church and participated in developing policy for youth protection on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge.

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