Joshua Lake
Criminal Justice Clinic Director
Professor of Practice
Joshua Lake leads the University of Houston Law Center’s Criminal Justice Clinic, handling direct representation in misdemeanor and felony cases and mentoring law students as they gain experience in real-world casework. He also works to strengthen the clinic’s community outreach and engagement.
With over a decade of experience in criminal defense, Lake is committed to providing justice for underserved communities and training the next generation of advocates.
Prior to joining UH, Lake was a partner at Khalil & Lake in Houston, handling white-collar and appellate cases alongside government and corporate investigations. Before that, Lake served for more than a decade as a state and federal public defender. Lake has appeared in state and federal court thousands of times, serving as the lead counsel in many trials and other contested litigation. He also served as training director for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Houston, where he organized and hosted CLE presentations for the local criminal defense bar. Lake has taught numerous CLEs on topics including the Fourth Amendment in a Digital Age and Effective Strategies in Criminal Sentencing.
Lake has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a staff editor for the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy and a contributor to the Georgetown Law Weekly. He also holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Texas A&M University.
