Full Name
Ms. Leigha Simonton
Job Title
U.S. Attorney
Court or Organization
Northern District of Texas
Speaker Bio
Leigha Simonton was sworn into office as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas on December 10, 2022. Ms. Simonton was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden on Nov. 14, 2022 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 6, 2022.
Ms. Simonton is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Northern District of Texas, overseeing a staff of more than 200, including over 100 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. She is a career federal prosecutor who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for almost 18 years before taking on the top role.
Ms. Simonton graduated early from the University of Texas at Austin with highest honors and attended Yale Law School, where she served as Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn and, later, for Fifth Circuit Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham. She then practiced law as an associate at Haynes & Boone, LLP, working on complex commercial litigation, white-collar, appellate, and antitrust matters.
In 2005, Ms. Simonton began her career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, practicing in the office’s Appellate Division. As an appellate prosecutor, she primarily defended convictions and sentences against defendants’ appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She also prosecuted cases at the trial-court level and provided extensive appellate advisory support to numerous trial teams throughout the district.
In 2014, Ms. Simonton won the Director’s Award from the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for her multi-year trial and appellate work on the Dallas City Hall corruption case involving former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and several other defendants.
In addition to her substantive legal work, Ms. Simonton has served in several leadership roles within the office. Most recently, she served as the Chief of the Appellate Division, acting as the office’s lead appellate attorney and also advising the United States Attorney on legal, strategic, and administrative matters. She managed a team of several Assistant U.S. Attorneys and support staff and coordinated with various Main Justice components including the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division and the Office of the U.S. Solicitor General.
Ms. Simonton is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Northern District of Texas, overseeing a staff of more than 200, including over 100 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. She is a career federal prosecutor who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for almost 18 years before taking on the top role.
Ms. Simonton graduated early from the University of Texas at Austin with highest honors and attended Yale Law School, where she served as Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn and, later, for Fifth Circuit Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham. She then practiced law as an associate at Haynes & Boone, LLP, working on complex commercial litigation, white-collar, appellate, and antitrust matters.
In 2005, Ms. Simonton began her career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, practicing in the office’s Appellate Division. As an appellate prosecutor, she primarily defended convictions and sentences against defendants’ appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She also prosecuted cases at the trial-court level and provided extensive appellate advisory support to numerous trial teams throughout the district.
In 2014, Ms. Simonton won the Director’s Award from the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for her multi-year trial and appellate work on the Dallas City Hall corruption case involving former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and several other defendants.
In addition to her substantive legal work, Ms. Simonton has served in several leadership roles within the office. Most recently, she served as the Chief of the Appellate Division, acting as the office’s lead appellate attorney and also advising the United States Attorney on legal, strategic, and administrative matters. She managed a team of several Assistant U.S. Attorneys and support staff and coordinated with various Main Justice components including the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division and the Office of the U.S. Solicitor General.
Speaking At
