Michael Fallings

Michael Fallings, managing partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC in Austin, Texas, has built his career on one conviction: public servants deserve a fierce advocate when their livelihoods are on the line. Chair of the firm's Federal Labor & Employment Practice Group, he concentrates on federal employment law, employment law, union legal services and whistleblower representation.

When a federal employee faces discipline, retaliation or a forced exit, Mr. Fallings steps into the arena. He argues before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Office of Special Counsel and carries those fights into state and federal courts when necessary. His days are often spent guiding clients through disciplinary investigations, retirement appeals and workplace grievances, turning high-pressure moments into strategic, winnable cases.

Preparation is his signature. Mr. Fallings has taken and defended countless depositions of parties and witnesses, and he has crafted oppositions to summary judgment motions that keep his clients' cases alive and moving toward trial. His record includes many favorable results at federal sector trials and at EEOC and MSPB hearings. His advocacy reaches beyond Washington's bureaucracy to Texas workplaces. Private-sector employees turn to him for discrimination claims, whistleblower retaliation, FMLA violations, severance negotiations and breach of employment contract disputes, which he litigates in Texas state and federal courts.

Peers and publications have taken notice. Mr. Fallings has been named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America (2026, 2027), the Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers (2025, 2026) and the Lawdragon 100 Managing Partners You Need to Know (2026). He has also earned recognition in the Lawdragon 500 X: The Next Generation (2024, 2025) and the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. He has addressed the American Bar Association's Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference as well.

A graduate of American University Washington College of Law, Mr. Fallings contributed to the Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law and the Labor & Employment Law Forum and was selected for the Federal Tax Clinic. He holds a bachelor's degree in business finance from Miami University of Ohio.