Stephen Gilstrap, former appellate chief in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas, has joined the Dallas office of Paul Hastings as of counsel in the firm’s appellate and complex litigation practice group.
In his nearly six years with the U.S. attorney’s office, Gilstrap, a 2011 graduate of Yale Law School and former associate with Vinson & Elkins, handled almost 300 appeals in the Fifth U.S. Circuit. In government and private practice, he argued 15 appeals in federal and state courts.
“While I’m proud of the work I did [with the U.S. attorney’s office], the most meaningful part of the job (and the part I’ll miss the most) is working alongside such a wonderful and dedicated group of public servants,” Gilstrap said on LinkedIn. “ I’m so grateful to each of you — especially my colleagues in the Appellate Division, which I had the privilege to lead for the last year and a half.
“Although I’m excited for the next chapter, serving as an assistant U.S. attorney … will always be a highlight of my career.”
“Stephen is one of the most extraordinary lawyers I’ve ever worked with,” said Leigha Simonton, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District from 2022 until this past January and now a member with Dykema in Dallas. “He’s incredibly talented. His judgment is spot on, and he gets things done quickly. He’s a joy to work with.”
Gilstrap is at least the 24th lawyer to have left the U.S. attorney’s office in the Northern District this year, according to a tally by The Texas Lawbook. The office, when fully staffed, employs about 100 assistant U.S. attorneys.
“That is an extraordinary number,” Simonton said. “Stephen is the last of my management team to leave, after the first assistant, the criminal chief, and the civil chief — among many others.”
The exodus from the Northern District reflects a nationwide pattern. The Washington Post reported last month that “the Justice Department has lost thousands of experienced attorneys since the start of the Trump administration and has backfilled a fraction of the open jobs. … Across the country, U.S. attorneys’ offices have experienced higher turnovers than they typically see during a change in administrations.”