Welcoming Thea Posel as TDS’s Legal Director
Dear Friends of TDS,
I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: Thea Posel has joined Texas Defender Service as our Legal Director.
For those who know Thea—or know the history of capital defense in Texas—her joining TDS is especially meaningful. Thea comes to us from University of Texas School of Law’s Capital Punishment Clinic, an institution with deep ties to TDS. The Clinic and TDS have shared people, ideas, cases, and a commitment to improving the quality of capital defense in Texas for decades.
Thea has been an important part of that shared work for years. Her experience spans capital cases at the trial, appellate, and post-conviction stages, and her work has consistently reflected something central to TDS’s approach: Excellent legal representation requires understanding and telling the full story of the person we represent.
That commitment is reflected in our collaboration on many promiment capital cases, which strengthened Thea’s connection to our clients and our mission. Welcoming her into this role feels deeply personal to me—and truly full circle.
As Legal Director, Thea will bring that same approach to TDS’s legal work: strengthening our direct representation and trial consulting, supporting lawyers across Texas, and helping ensure that our litigation and mitigation expertise remain deeply integrated.
At a moment when the stakes for our clients could not be higher, we are incredibly fortunate to have someone with Thea’s experience and commitment helping lead this work. Just as importantly, Thea already knows TDS and what we are trying to build. We are so excited to officially welcome her to the TDS team—and excited for all that comes next.
Thank you, as always, for making this work possible
With gratitude,
Randi Chavez
Co-Executive Director
Texas Defender Service
