A veteran of high-profile criminal prosecutions, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham has been named the new interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the Northern District of Texas. Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham will serve as the second interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official, following the resignation of former Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah on October 1, 2021. According to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham shall take on the highest position in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas beginning October 2, 2021, and shall remain in place for a maximum period of 300 days, or until a permanent Top Federal Prosecutor for the district has been nominated and confirmed by President-elect Joe Biden and by the Senate, respectively.
Table of Contents
Educational Background, and Bar and Court Admissions
Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham graduated from the University of North Texas, from where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. He subsequently studied law at Texas Tech University, where he received his Juris Doctorate in May of 1992. The United States Attorney Meacham has been providing invaluable service to the Northern District of Texas for almost three decades, beginning on his admittance to the State Bar of Texas on November 6, 1992. U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham has also been granted admission to practice law in several federal courts, including the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Texas Northern District Court.
Legal Career
The legal career of Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham focused on criminal prosecutions and criminal appellate work. He first came to work in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas in the City of Dallas in 1998. A career prosecutor with 29 years of experience in both trial and appellate sections, Acting U.S. Attorney has a breadth and depth of experience in the U.S. Attorney’s Office composition. He has also served in several leadership roles, including being a Lead Appellate Attorney and the Lead Attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). On top of these, Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham has also been previously appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the Office of the U.S. Attorney and later as the Chief of the Criminal Division. Most recently, on January 10, 2021, interim Top Federal Prosecutor Chad Meacham was named the First Assistant U.S. Attorney to former interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official Prerak Shah by virtue of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing and managing the daily operations of the Office’s Criminal, Civil, Appellate, and Administrative Divisions.
Notable Prosecutions by Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham
Among the notable prosecutions led by Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham include the 2011 case of a former FBI agent who was convicted for retaliating against a federal official. U.S. Attorney Meacham also took part in the $450 million NextHealth Frauds case in 2019. The defendant, who was a Dallas healthcare executive, was ordered to pay $3 million in restitution and was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison.
Office Jurisdiction
The Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas covers 96,000 square miles. As the incumbent interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the Northern District of Texas, Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham is responsible for serving and protecting a population of approximately eight million residents of the district. Moreover, he is in charge of leading and managing a staff of approximately 250 attorneys, including support personnel that is assigned across the four division offices of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The four-division offices provide services for all of the seven divisions within the district, which comprise 100 counties. The seven divisions are the Abilene Division, Amarillo Division, Dallas Division, Fort Worth Division, Lubbock Division, San Angelo Division, and Wichita Falls Division, wherein offices are located in the Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, and Amarillo divisions. Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham shall also oversee and handle all of the federal criminal prosecutions, as well as all of the civil litigations within the jurisdiction of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of in which the United States is a party.
Contact Details
Full Name: Chad E. Meacham
District/State: Northern District of Texas
Public e-mail ID: CMeacham@usa.doj.gov
Dallas Office
1100 Commerce Street, Third Floor
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699
(214) 659-8600
Main
Fort Worth Office
Burnett Plaza Suite 1700
801 Cherry Street, Unit #4
Fort Worth, Texas 76102-6882
(817) 252-5200
Main
Lubbock Office
1205 Texas Ave., Suite 700
Lubbock, Texas 79401-40024
(806) 472-7351
Main
Amarillo Office
Amarillo National Plaza Two
500 South Taylor Street, Suite 300
Amarillo, Texas 79101-2446
(806) 324-2356
Main
Media affairs
Erin Dooley
(214) 659-8707
Main
erin.dooley@usdoj.gov
E-mail Address
Social Media Profiles of Chad Meacham
Username: N/A
URL: N/A
Username: @usaondtx [U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas]
URL: https://www.facebook.com/usaondtx/
YouTube
Username: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas
URL: https://www.youtube.com/c/usao-ndtx
Username: U.S. Attorney N. Texas
Tag: @NDTXnews
URL: https://twitter.com/ndtxnews
Updated: November 3, 2021