McDonald, William E.

Mitchell McCrea is an attorney in Baron & Budd's water contamination litigation group. Mitchell has always been intensely aware of the need for access to clean water. He grew up among farmers and ranchers in southern New Mexico, southern California and southwest Texas, where water was a scarce and precious commodity.

Although he loved ranch life, his family-aware of the inherent uncertainty of agriculture-encouraged Mitchell to apply himself to his studies. After earning a bachelor's degree with honors in history from Principia College, Michell earned a master's degree from the University of New Mexico, focusing on the history of the American West and culminating in his thesis, "The Cowboy and the Crow: Anglo Cattle Ranching on the Crow Indian Reservation." His studies just cemented his belief in the importance of fair access to clean water.

"Whether I was listening to my family's struggles for water for their farming and ranching operations, or witnessing and taking an active interest in the growing conflicts over water in the arid Southwest, or studying the history of Western agriculture and environment, I determined water was a-if not the-key to success," says Mitchell. "Armed with a law license, I could position myself to make a positive impact for those who depend on Earth's most precious resource."

Mitchell earned his law degree cum laude from Texas Tech School of Law, where he met his future wife, Kim. Despite early plans to move to New Mexico to work in natural resources law, the couple moved to Dallas to begin their legal careers. With six years of litigation and trial experience under his belt, Mitchell found the chance he had been waiting for to use that experience to pursue his passion.

"As part of Baron & Budd's water contamination group, I am involved in litigation every day that motivates me deeply," says Mitchell. "Every day, I fight for clients who endeavor to provide clean water to the public, and I can't think of a better way to spend my time."

But the legal fight hasn't completely subsumed Mitchell's love of ranch life and the American West. In fact, Mitchell continues to run cattle and grow corn, alfalfa, and chile with his brother in southern New Mexico. Mitchell also serves on the boards of the Texas Stampede Rodeo, which is held each November and serves a network of children's charities in north Texas, and the Texas Horse Park, which is an equestrian center being developed near downtown Dallas as part of the city's Trinity River Corridor Project.