Natalie Miller recently assumed duties as an assistant district attorney to Upshur County Dist. Atty. Billy Byrd.

She replaces Christie Martin, who recently resigned to accept a position with the 12th Court of Appeals in Tyler.

Ms. Miller, 28, is a May 2011 graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas, where she was on the law review. During her time in law school, she was an intern in the felony family violence division of the Dallas County District Attorney's Office in the summers of 2009 and 2010.

She also was a paralegal at two large Washington, D.C., law firms, Deckherd, LLP and Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal, between 2006 and 2008. After graduating from law school, she worked for about six months in the Dallas law firm of Baron and Continued from Page 1

Budd, PC, which specialized in asbestos exposure litigation.

Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., Ms. Miller grew up in nearby Portage, Mich. After graduating from Portage Northern High School, she received a bachelor of arts degree in English in 2006 from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio (near Cleveland.)

She assumed her duties here April 16, handling misdemeanor cases, Child Protective Services cases, and handling the office’s responses to all appeals of criminal convictions.

“I always wanted to go to law school, actually since I was in high school,” Ms. Miller said in an interview Thursday. “I find it (the law) interesting. It’s ever-evolving.”

She said she majored in English in college because “I think I had a wonderful English teacher in high school. . .and probably to sharpen my writing skills.” She said she also had an excellent English professor during her first semester in college.

Although raised and educated in the North, Ms. Miller said she has relatives in Houston and Austin, and “I’ve been coming to Texas my whole life.” So she thought the SMU law school would be a good fit for her, she said.

In a statement released by his office Friday, Byrd said, “Natalie had an impressive résumé with a strong interest in criminal law. She was among the top of her law school class at SMU and had the distinction to work as an editor on the SMU Law Review Journal. Her writing strengths, her desire to enter the courtroom, and her personality made her a perfect match.

“Our office consistently has jury trials that result in convictions and then appeals. She has the writing and research ability to ensure our jury verdicts and sentecnes stand up on appeal. I am very proud she has joined our team and certain she will develop into an excellent attorney.