Mr. R. Michael Vang was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming where he graduated from Kelly Walsh High School. Mr. Vang qualified to attend the National Forensic League's High School Debate Tournament, which was held at the University of San Francisco (USF) in June 2012. The day after Mr. Vang returned from the debate tournament, a person who was ultimately convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide killed his mother and father. (Felske v. State, 706 P.2d 257 (Wyo. 1985)). Mr. Vang received a debate scholarship to attend the University of Wyoming, where he graduated with a B.S. degree in Political Science and where he also obtained his J.D degree. Mr. Vang was one of two college debaters named to the U.S. Debate Team that travelled to Great Britain in the spring semester of 1991.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Vang was appointed to handle several driving while under the influence (DUI) cases. Despite his personal experience, Mr. Vang discovered that DUI and implied consent laws rely in large part on the creation of legal fictions rather than science, which can produce gross injustices in DUI cases. Approximately ninety-five percent (95%) of Mr. Vang's current practice is dedicated to defending people accused of impaired driving. Mr. Vang has an AV preeminent rating in criminal law by Martindale-Hubbell.
Mr. Vang is a founding member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA), as well as a co-chairman of the DUIDLA Amicus Committee. Mr. Vang has been a member of the National College of DUI Defense (NCDD) since 1997; a sustaining member of NCDD since 2000; and has been the Wyoming State Delegate for the NCDD since the NCDD State Delegate program was initially created. Mr. Vang is a member of the Wyoming Trial Lawyer's Association (WTLA) and Mr. Vang frequently presents lectures for the WTLA concerning impaired driving laws and chemical testing issues. Mr. Vang has also been invited to present lectures on the subject matter of impaired driving laws and chemical testing issues to the Wyoming Governors Conference on Impaired Driving, the Wyoming State Bar Association (WSBA), the NCDD, the DUIDLA, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia (ICLEG). Mr. Vang has nineteen reported cases that address the application of Wyoming's DUI and implied consent laws with the Wyoming Supreme Court. Mr. Vang is the only lawyer in the State of Wyoming that has earned “The ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer Scientist Designation as recognized by the Chemistry and Law Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS).”
