Judge K. Nicole Mitchell

U.S. District Court Judge, Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division

Judge Mitchell, a native Texan, was born and raised in Victoria, Texas.  She graduated with honors from Baylor Law School after receiving both bachelors and masters degrees from Texas A&M University.  While at Baylor, Judge Mitchell served as the Senior Executive Editor of the Baylor Law Review, as well as Managing Editor of the Law Review’s Texas Practice Edition.     

After law school, Judge Mitchell clerked for the Honorable Chief Judge Leonard Davis in the Eastern District of Texas before starting her civil practice at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright) in Houston, Texas.  Judge Mitchell’s practice focused primarily on the area of Health Law Litigation, but she also worked on patent cases and is licensed to practice before the USPTO.  After her time at Fulbright & Jaworski, Judge Mitchell returned to the Eastern District of Texas to serve as the Chief Staff Attorney to Judge Davis. 

Judge Mitchell was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge on August 16, 2013.  In her time on the bench, Judge Mitchell has overseen numerous patent and general civil litigation cases as well as criminal cases.  She also mediates cases pending in the Eastern District of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.   In addition, Judge Mitchell serves as an adjunct faculty member and Jaworski Fellow at Baylor Law School where she regularly teaches in the Baylor Law Academy of the Advocate study abroad program in St. Andrews, Scotland.  Judge Mitchell is currently working on her LLM in Judicial Studies at Duke University School of Law.  Judge Mitchell serves as the president of the T. John Ward Inn of Courts and the president-elect of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. 

When not working, Judge Mitchell enjoys running, fishing, and spending time with her husband and four active boys.