Mike represents minors and adults in both state and federal matters. Her practice focuses on all aspects of criminal defense, including trials, appeals, post-conviction petitions, and parole and commutations.

Mike has practiced criminal defense both as a public and private attorney and has more than a decade of experience. She has handled complex, white-collar investigations, multi-witness sex offense cases, and allegations of drug and environmental crimes. She has extensive knowledge of juvenile, domestic violence, child protection, and other specialty court proceedings.

Ms. French serves as a member of the Legislative Committee of the Idaho Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is a member of the Federal Criminal Justice Act panel of attorneys. She consistently donates her time on behalf of causes and organizations such as prisoner rights, the ACLU, and the state bar’s street law clinics.

After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Idaho College of Law, where she was Co-President of the German Law Journal and a James E. Rogers Scholar, Mike served as a law clerk to the Honorable Justice Joel D. Horton of the Supreme Court of Idaho.

Mike is licensed in California and has appeared before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Idaho, and the state and federal trial courts in Idaho.
Ms. French graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English from Boise State University and earned her master’s degree in Irish Studies as a Mitchell Scholar from the Queen’s University of Belfast. She managed business language education for several years at a school in Prague, where she also volunteered at La Strada, an organization that works to prevent trafficking in human beings and to re-empower its survivors.

Although her full name is Mikela, everyone calls her Mike after her great-grandfather Mike Walker—a one-time mayor of Lewisville, Idaho, and namesake of the Snake River boat ramp. When she is not practicing law, Mike can be seen walking the Boise foothills with her rescue dogs.