Slack Davis Sanger: The Former NASA Engineer Who Is One of Texas’s Only Aviation Law Specialists

TO OUR READERS: This profile is independent editorial content produced by Awesome Attorneys. Slack Davis Sanger LLP did not pay for, commission, sponsor, or review this article, and inclusion in this series cannot be purchased. Nothing here is legal advice, an endorsement, or a recommendation to hire any lawyer; readers should evaluate counsel independently and may verify any Texas attorney’s license and discipline history through the State Bar of Texas at texasbar.com. Facts are drawn from the sources identified in the Methodology section and were verified as of August 2026.

AT A GLANCE

I. From the Apollo-Soyuz Program to Aviation Crash Litigation

Michael Slack’s path to becoming Texas’s most technically credentialed aviation attorney runs through NASA, not law school first. He worked as a senior aerospace engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center from 1974 to 1980, on the Apollo-Soyuz and Space Shuttle programs, receiving special commendations from NASA before pivoting to law. That background, combined with his status as a licensed pilot, gives him a genuinely rare technical vocabulary for the mechanical and systems-failure questions at the center of aviation accident litigation.

II. One of a Handful of Texas Attorneys Board Certified in Aviation Law

In January 2024, Slack became one of the first attorneys in Texas to earn Board Certification in Aviation Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a specialty area the TBLS only added in 2023. Combined with his existing Personal Injury Trial Law certification, this makes him double board certified in a combination held by, per the firm’s own description, only a handful of attorneys statewide. He has litigated or tried aviation accident cases in state or federal courts across 36 states.

III. Practice Areas

• Aviation and aerospace accidents (airplane and helicopter crashes)
• Catastrophic personal injury
• Products liability
• Motor vehicle, oilfield, and construction accidents
• Wrongful death
• Complex litigation, class actions, and whistleblower matters

IV. Case Outcomes

This profile located Slack’s professional recognitions and case-type history (36 states of aviation litigation) rather than an itemized, dollar-by-dollar published results list on the firm’s own site as of this research date; that gap is disclosed here rather than filled in.

V. The Client Voice

This profile located third-party peer recognition (Best Lawyers in America since 1995, Super Lawyers since 2003) and professional awards rather than a large volume of independently attributed consumer client reviews as of this research date; that gap is disclosed rather than papered over with marketing copy. Prospective clients should ask the firm directly for references during a consultation.

VI. Community and Local Presence

Slack’s engagement with the aviation professional community is genuine and sustained: he is a past chair of the Aviation Law Section of the American Association for Justice and a current member of its Board of Governors, and was named an Associate Fellow by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2002, a distinction the organization considers unusual for an attorney. Texas A&M’s Department of Aerospace Engineering has separately honored him with its Outstanding Aerospace Engineer and Distinguished Aerospace Engineer Alumni awards.

VII. Credentials and Recognition

Michael Slack holds two genuine Texas Board of Legal Specialization certifications, Personal Injury Trial Law and the newly available Aviation Law credential, both peer- and exam-based distinctions. He is also certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating, the service’s highest peer-review standard. These are third-party, peer-reviewed credentials distinguished here from marketing-program awards.

VIII. The Texas Legal Backdrop

Aviation accident claims, Slack’s specific area of dual certification, are frequently governed by federal law (including the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions for international flights and FAA regulations) layered on top of Texas state tort law, a jurisdictional complexity most general personal injury attorneys do not regularly navigate. Texas personal injury claims generally are subject to a two-year statute of limitations under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001) under which a plaintiff found more than 50% responsible generally cannot recover. None of this is legal advice; consult a licensed Texas attorney about your specific situation.

IX. The Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Slack Davis Sanger’s structural strength is a genuinely rare combination: one of Texas’s few attorneys holding both Personal Injury Trial Law and Aviation Law board certifications, backed by real engineering credentials from a NASA career rather than a marketing claim of “technical expertise.” For a client involved in an aviation accident specifically, airplane, helicopter, or related aerospace incident, that combination of legal certification and genuine technical background is a real, checkable differentiator that few firms nationally, let alone in Austin, can match.

The honest limitation is one worth naming directly: this specific expertise is aviation-focused, and a client with a standard car-accident or slip-and-fall claim, while still served by the firm’s broader personal injury practice, isn’t the case type where Slack’s most distinctive credential adds unique value. This profile also could not verify a substantial, independently attributed consumer review record for the firm, unlike several other firms in this series.

X. Methodology & Sources

This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys in August 2026 without the participation, sponsorship, or payment of Slack Davis Sanger LLP. Primary sources: the firm’s website slackdavis.com (attorney bio for Michael Slack); PR Newswire press release announcing Slack’s Aviation Law board certification (January 2024). Verification sources: Super Lawyers attorney profile (career history, peer recognition); Justia attorney directory listing (office address, bar certification). Statutes cited in Section VIII were verified against the Texas Constitution and Statutes database (statutes.capitol.texas.gov).

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal-directory publisher. This profile was not paid for by Slack Davis Sanger, and inclusion in our editorial coverage cannot be purchased. Awesome Attorneys may separately offer premium sponsored placements to attorneys and firms; sponsorship status, where it exists, is always disclosed and does not alter the editorial content of a profile such as this one. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice or an attorney referral.