Thea Posel is a clinical assistant professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work and the School of Law and the JD/MSSW dual degree advisor for the School of Law. She has worked with capital defense teams in both Colorado and Texas, from pre-trial litigation preparation and consulting to state and federal post-conviction cases, and maintains an active legal practice in addition to her teaching courseload. Thea’s areas of interest include jury selection, jury decision-making, and mitigation investigation and presentation, and her legal career has focused primarily on Texas state court advocacy and consulting at the capital trial, appellate, and habeas stages.
At UT, Thea teaches an interdisciplinary course on mitigation and sentencing advocacy, as well as forensic social work and the legal system, and classes in the law school related to capital representation at trial and post-conviction proceedings. She has also designed and taught social welfare policy and social problems in the MSSW program. She is passionate about incorporating social workers into defense teams and improving the quality of client relationships and advocacy in all levels of criminal legal representation.
Professional Interests
Jury selection, jury decision-making, and mitigation investigation and presentation.