Mindy Montford

Mindy Montford has spent over twenty-five years working in the criminal justice system and has served on both sides of the courtroom as a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. Mindy grew up in Austin, Texas and earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas. After law school, Mindy worked in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston, Texas prosecuting misdemeanor cases. She returned to Austin in 1997 and served as the General Counsel for State Senator, Eddie Lucio, Jr. working for the Intergovernmental Relations Committee and Border Affairs Committee during the 76th legislative session. Wanting to return to the courtroom, Mindy resumed her prosecution career in the Travis County District Attorney’s Office in Austin, Texas where she served as an Assistant District Attorney for almost ten years working in all areas of the office including the Trial Division, the Public Integrity Unit, and the Family Justice Division handling serious crimes including child abuse, white collar, sexual assault, domestic violence, and capital murder cases. While serving in the Travis County DA’s Office, Mindy co-founded the prosecution externship program at the University of Texas School of Law and served as an Adjunct Professor teaching law students about the criminal justice system. After leaving the DA’s Office in 2008, Mindy started her own law practice with a focus on criminal defense work. She was one of only 8 women attorneys at the time on the Travis County “A List” for court appointments making her eligible to represent individuals charged with the most serious crimes. In 2016, Mindy returned to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and served as the First Assistant District Attorney for the newly elected District Attorney, Margaret Moore, where she oversaw an office of approximately 230 employees. In 2021, Mindy embarked on a new career path where she started a statewide cold case and missing persons unit in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and currently serves as Senior Counsel for the unit where she assists law enforcement agencies across the state with their unsolved homicide and missing persons cases.

Throughout her legal career, Mindy has tried over 100 jury trials, testified as a resource witness before legislative committees on criminal justice reform issues, has helped draft key pieces of legislation including the life without parole statute, and has presented as a lecturer on various criminal law topics. In addition to her work in the criminal justice system, Mindy has served as a board member for several agencies and associations including the Alzheimer’s Association, the Texas District and County Attorneys Association Foundation, the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association, the Girl Scouts/Lone Star Council, the Junior League of Austin, and the Crime Prevention Institute. Mindy has one son and two adopted dogs..