Michael Ybarra is a lawyer, entrepreneur, educator, and community leader with deep Texas roots.

Michael’s family moved to Austin in 1986, and to Travis Heights in 1996, where he lives today with his partner Andrew and their beloved dog Laika. He believes there is no greater community anywhere than Southeast Austin, but that it can be ever better—that its magic can always reach more of its residents.

His commitment to our city and state is borne out in his work as a Commissioner on Austin’s Economic Prosperity Commission, as a Trustee of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, and as the former Voter Protection lead for Battleground Texas.

While in (t)exile in New York, he co-founded Ybarra PLLC to help entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in Texas, New York, and abroad.  Outside the office, Michael is learning to fly (and land!) small aircraft, spends as much time with dogs as possible, and helps to manage his family’s farm in Bastrop County—including the slow but steady restoration of its 100-year old barn and farmhouse.  He jumps at the chance to teach business law to university students and executives, whenever and wherever he can.

He is a graduate of Austin’s St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Georgetown University, and New York University School of Law.

Want to learn more about Michael in his own words and—even better—see some embarrassing childhood pictures? Then read on, dear reader, read on…

Deep Roots

My dad, Rodolfo Ybarra, is an architect and artist from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  My mom, Cindy Ybarra (Smith) is a retired public health nurse from Live Oak County, Texas.  From my mother, I’ve learned the value of kindness, compassion, and nurturing; from my father, the value of art, beauty, and positivity in the face of adversity.

Texas Democratic politics run in the family, and have for generations.  My great-grandfather, Sheriff Albert Smith, was one of Texas’ longest-serving sheriffs, having served as chief lawman in Live Oak County for nearly 40 years. His long career started when the incumbent sheriff needed a man arrested who he was afraid of. Deputy Smith was told if he would arrest the man he could have the damn job. Smith went up to the man, stuck a pistol in his ear, and told him he was under arrest—and that was that.  He still holds a semi-legendary status in the tough brush country of South Texas, where he is known as a tough but fair lawman who administered justice regardless of color or creed.

My great-great grandfather, Judge William G. Love, was instrumental in the election of Miriam A. Ferguson as the first female governor of Texas (and the second in the nation).  He was a founder and the first mayor of the then-independent Houston Heights, a Regent of the University of Texas at Austin, and longtime district attorney for Harris and Galveston counties.  Lynn Smith, my maternal grandfather, was a lifelong cattle rancher and family man in Live Oak County; my grandmother Betty Love Smith, was a homemaker, community and church leader, and all-around firecracker and impeccable class act.  They were both true Texas originals in every absolute best sense of the term. From my mom’s family, I’ve learned the value of hard work, independence, a love of the land, and a stiff upper lip.

On my dad’s side, my grandfather Simón Ybarra was a well-known Mexican sculptor and teacher, a founder of San Miguel’s Instituto Allende, and a teacher at the Instituto de Bellas Artes.  My grandmother, Irene Ybarra (Serrano), was a gentle soul but a fierce advocate for her family:  she once fired a shotgun through a crack in the family’s ancient wooden doors to scare away a daughter’s overeager suitor.  My middle name comes from my Mexican grandfather’s closest friend Stirling Dickinson, who was like a second father to my dad. Stirling was an American intelligence officer in WWII, and later an artist, botanist, and philanthropist.  From my father’s family, I’ve learned the value of humor, perseverance, unbreakable family ties, and the vital importance of gathering around good food.

Early Years

I was born in 1980 in Albuquerque, NM, where my parents were living out a fit of hippie rebellion in the late 70s.  Albuquerque was part of Texas’ territorial claims in the days of the Republic, and on that basis, I feel like I can claim—in a pinch—that I was born in Texas.  In any case, my family moved to Austin when I was six years old to be closer to my mom’s family.  We lived first in Oak Hill, later in Dripping Springs, and ultimately in Travis Heights.

I graduated from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in West Austin, the first integrated boarding school in the South, and the first coeducational boarding school in the country.  My time there was absolutely transformative and formative, and I remain a strong supporter of the school as a Trustee.  If I had to point to one institution that was definitive in forming my values, outlook on life, and commitment to service, it would be St. Stephen’s, hands down.  I’ve traveled the world, and gone to a heck of a lot of schools, but few places are as magical and powerful as those tree-covered hills along the Colorado River.

In high school, I was a member of Austin Rowing Club’s junior men’s team.  I have some medals from state and regional championship regattas; to be honest I can’t recall what we won.  I’ll have to ask some of the brave souls who rowed with me (Anyone? Bueller?).  I do know that between college and grad school, I coached the club’s novice men to a state championship.  That was pretty fantastic.

An Education

I graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 2002, and from New York University’s School of Law in 2006.  While we’re running through my resume, and for the sake of completeness:  I also studied at the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago’s law school, and completed fellowships at the U.S. Embassy in Belize, the Center for Strategic & International Studies, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and in the office of former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger.

But there’s no substitute for real life experience.  After starting my career as an antitrust litigator at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, the white-shoe New York law firm, I realized that big city law practice was not for me.  Which is not to say that I didn’t meet good people there, or learn good lessons; I absolutely did.  It was an intense education, surrounded by great mentors and great associates (some of whom I still practice law with today). But working for huge, impersonal corporations and banks lacked a warmth, humanity, and sanity I craved.

So when the firm offered the chance to work for a nonprofit for a year following the 2008 market crash, I jumped at the opportunity, and spent a year working in the International Justice program at Human Rights Watch.  At HRW, I supported brilliant (and patient) experts as they worked to make the International Criminal Court and national courts better enforcers of international human rights law.  And when the time came to return to big firm practice…I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Thus was born Ybarra PLLC, a law practice that was created by Simpson Thacher alums to serve the needs of startups, entrepreneurs, and the investors who love them.  From humble beginnings in my West Village apartment in New York, the firm has grown to help bring innovative products and services to market—and to create jobs—in Texas, New York, Europe, and Latin America.

Home Sweet Home

The old song says that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.  For some people, there ought to be a verse about making it in New York, and then taking it elsewhere. New York is nice, but…it ain’t Texas.

So, having gathered everything I needed from the big city—a degree, a career, and a fiancé—I brought all of them back home to Austin in 2011.  The only thing missing was the perfect dog, a shortcoming that was remedied in January 2012.

Since coming back home, outside of the office, I’ve supported the voter protection work of Battleground Texas and the Texas Democrats, and I currently serve as a Commissioner on the City of Austin’s Economic Prosperity Commission. I’m deeply honored to be a Trustee of my beloved St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.  And when people ask me to, I love to teach business law, which I’ve done locally at Texas State and the University of Texas at Austin, and abroad at the African Centre for Legal Excellence in Kampala, Uganda and in Germany at the Duale Hochschule Baden-Wurttemberg.

When we’re not working in our yard or walking Laika around Travis Heights, Andrew and I spend time as much time as possible at my family’s farm in Bastrop County outside of Smithville.  In addition to the restoration of its historic farmhouse and structures, we work on restoring wildlife habitat, creating a conservation community cemetery, and generally sweat a lot.  People ask when the work will be done at the farm so that we can finally get to the fun part, without realizing that the work is the fun part.

The next chapter of this story is up to you.  If elected, I’d be deeply honored to bring the values instilled by my family, the knowledge gained from my education in and out of the classroom, and the passion and relationships earned through my diverse  experience to bear on the challenges and opportunities that face Central Texas at this pivotal moment in our history.