Mike Engelhart
Mike Engelhart Neutral
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Overview

Mike Engelhart

Hon. Mike Engelhart is a certified mediator who conducted dozens of mediations for fellow judges during his tenure on the bench, resolving the vast majority of those matters. He approaches each mediation with careful preparation, closely reviewing key documents and controlling law. He maximizes the parties’ time together by drawing on his extensive experience to offer practical ideas and strategies informed by decades of litigation and judicial insight.

Mike was a litigator for 13 years before serving the next 16 years as a civil district judge in Harris County, Texas. He later worked as a partner at the catastrophic injury law firm Kherkher Garcia LLP before transitioning to full-time mediation and arbitration. Mike is board-certified in personal injury trial law. Before and after his judicial service, he represented clients in civil disputes and appeals in state and federal courts throughout Texas and across the United States.

Mike has overseen thousands of lawsuits and conducted hundreds of trials involving civil disputes, including personal injury and wrongful death claims, motor vehicle and trucking accidents, insurance disputes, products liability, maritime matters, construction law, business disputes, real estate litigation, fraud, employment matters and professional malpractice. He is a two-time recipient of the Trial Judge of the Year award from the Texas Association of Civil Trial & Appellate Specialists.

 

Admitted to Practice

  • Texas, 1995
  • Southern District of Texas, 1996
  • Western District of Texas , 1998, 2025
  • Northern District of Texas, 1995
  • Eastern District of Texas, 2002
  • Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, 2001
  • District of Colorado, 2025

Education

  • University of Houston Law Center, J.D., 1995
    • Associate Editor, Houston Law Review
    • Recipient, Lillian Kaiser Lewis Scholarship
  • University of Michigan, B.A., 1992
      • Dual Major in Political Science & Spanish
      • TKE Fraternity
      • Michigan Marching Band (Drumline)

Professional or Trade Affiliations

  • Board of Directors, Texas Association of Civil Trial & Appellate Specialists
  • Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow
  • Fellow, College of the State Bar of Texas

 

Representative Matters

  • Catastrophic construction injury suit resolved in 2025 for insurance tower policy limits.
  • Summary Judgment for Defendant/Counterclaimant in 2025 real estate/heirship dispute.

 

Honors & Awards

  • Franklin Jones Best CLE Article Award from the College of the State Bar of Texas, 2016
  • Public Sector Achievement Award from the University of Houston Law Center Alumni Association, 2016

 

Publications

  • “Procedure for Enforcing State, Federal and Foreign Country Judgments in Texas,” State Bar of Texas 15th Annual Collections & Creditors’ Rights, San Antonio, Texas 2017
  • “Evidence in the Courtroom,” TexasBarCLE, Advanced Evidence and Discovery, April 12, 2019, Houston, Texas

 

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, “Bare Bones: How to Try Simple, Soft-Tissue Auto Cases, Houston Bar Association CLE, April 4, 2025, Houston, Texas
  • Presenter, Co-Author, “Mock Voir Dire,” 25th Civil/Appellate Bench Bar Conference, April 11, 2019, Houston, Texas.

 

Community Involvement

  • Board of Directors, Greater Houston Kosher Chili Cookoff, 2012-2021

 

Rates and Fees

Rates - Mike Engelhart

If you have questions regarding our rates and fees, please contact support@milesadr.com

MEDIATION RATES:

Flat Rates
Full-Day Mediation: $2,500.00 Per Party/ Per Day
Half-Day Mediation: $1,500.00 Per Party/ Per Day

Mediation Admin Fee: $100 per party
Pre/Post Consultation & Document Review: Rates inclusive of prep work and follow-up.
Travel Rates: Rates inclusive of all travel time but not travel expenses. Travel expenses, including but not limited to flights, meals and lodging, billed separately and split equally among the parties.

MEDIATION CANCELLATION POLICY

Mediations cancelled, rescheduled or settled within 10 days of the mediation will be charged a cancellation fee of $1,000. Cancellation fees shall be sent to the cancelling party unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

Mediation Admin Fees
Houston Mediation Admin Fee - $100 per party