Mike Hatchell is the recipient of the 2025 Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award, presented by the Texas Center for Legal Ethics. Hatchell was honored during the 30th annual Texas Supreme Court Historical Society’s John Hemphill Dinner on September 5 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.
Each year, the center presents the Pope Award to a judge or attorney who personifies the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in appellate law. The award is named for former Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice Jack Pope, one of the center’s founders and the award’s first recipient in 2009, according to a press release.
“Mike Hatchell is widely regarded as the dean of the Texas appellate bar—not only for his pioneering role when few appellate specialists existed, but for the standard of excellence, craftsmanship, and integrity he has set throughout his career,” 2012 Pope Award recipient and Houston appellate attorney Kevin Dubose said in a press release. “As a young lawyer, I watched him speak at CLEs and hoped one day I might grow up to be like Mike Hatchell. I’m still waiting for that to happen.”
Hatchell, counsel to Haynes & Boone in Austin, has served as lead counsel in over 400 appeals, according to a press release. He is a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, serves on the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee, and was the 2015 recipient of the Texas Bar Foundation’s Gregory S. Coleman Outstanding Appellate Lawyer Award.
For more information about the center, go to legalethicstexas.com.