W. Troy McKinney received his Bachelor of Science degree from Houston Baptist University in 1981 with a double major in Political Science and Speech; He attended law school at South Texas College of Law, graduating summa cum laude in 1986; While in law school, Mr. McKinney was a member of the Justice Court, the Order of the Barristers, and the Order of the Lytae. He was awarded several American Jurisprudence Awards and also won awards in various moot court competitions.

From 1986 through 1987, Mr. McKinney was a briefing attorney for the Honorable Murry Cohen at the First Judicial Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas; Mr. McKinney was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1986, and has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas.

Mr. McKinney is a sustaining member of the National College for DUI Defense, and a member of the American Bar Association, the Houston Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas (Criminal and Appellate Law Sections), the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (Vice President 1999 - 2000, President Elect 2000 - 2001, President 2001 - 2002), the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Association for Justice, and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. McKinney is a frequent speaker throughout the country and internationally on DWI and other criminal law issues; He has authored articles related to DWI defense that have been published in The Champion, The Voice for the Defense, and The Defender; He is frequently consulted and quoted in a variety of media publications, which recently have included Time Magazine, Texas Lawyer, the National Law Journal, and the Houston Chronicle; He has appeared on Donahue, Larry King, A&E, TNN, Current Affairs, as well a variety of local news programs; Two movies have been made (ABC and HBO) about cases defended by Mr. McKinney; In June 2000, the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association named Mr. McKinney the Outstanding Member of the Year; Mr. McKinney is certified as a practitioner and instructor in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Standardized Field Sobriety Tests the roadside exercises that officers ask citizens to perform.