Prerak Shah
On January 10, 2021, Prerak Shah was named the new Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, following the stepping down of former U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox, which was effective January 8, 2021. Pursuant to the Vacancies Reform Act, Prerak Shah will remain the Top Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the Northern District of Texas for 300 days after his appointment. Until such time, the Senate confirms a presidential nominee for the position.
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Education
U.S. Attorney Shah is a graduate of Drexel University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree in 2007. He later entered the University of Chicago Law School and subsequently received his Juris Doctorate, graduating with Honors in 2010.
Legal Career
Prerak Shah launched his legal career by becoming a Law Clerk under the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2010 to 2011. Eventually, he joined a private practice and became an Associate at the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. For approximately five years, from 2011 to 2016, U.S. Attorney Shah was a Constitutional Litigator at the firm, providing a wide range of services, including managing complex litigation, creating and briefing new legal arguments in the trial courts as preparation for appeals, assisting in the development of constitutional and policy arguments, providing legal advice on possible constitutional challenges with regards to proposed transactions or business plans, bringing about a novel or complex legal theories, engaging in forms of legislative and public policy advocacy, offering to counsel to government entities and aiding them in the anticipation and preparation for legal challenges that may arise, and other forms of assistance available involving constitutional and related issues.
In February of 2016, U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah joined the Office of the Texas Attorney General as an Assistant Solicitor General, where he served for three months, performing highly complex and advanced appellate work. In this capacity, he stood before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Texas Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and other state courts of appeals, representing the State of Texas. Four months later, U.S. Attorney Shah was promoted into being the Senior Counsel to the Attorney General and served in the position for about ten months, from May of 2016 to February of the following year. With a little over a year of service in the agency, U.S. Attorney Shah has performed duties in the Executive Leadership Team, managed litigation teams, and has represented the State of Texas in intensive cases, such as the defense of Texas’ Voter ID, which remains to be the nation’s most strict voter identification law. U.S. Attorney Shah was also a part of the defense of the “campus carry” law, which allows licensed holders to carry a concealed handgun throughout university campuses. Apart from these two litigations, U.S. Attorney Shah has also worked in defense of the right of Texas school boards to open meetings with student-led public prayers without violating the U.S. Constitution.
Prior to joining the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Shah was a part of the United States Senate. In his first year in the Office, from Feb 2017 to 2018, he served as a Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas. About the same year, U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah became the Chief of Staff to Senator Ted Cruz, serving in the position from December of 2017 to April of 2019.
A month after his resignation from the Office of the United States Senate, Prerak Shah joined the U.S. Department of Justice and held multiple senior leadership roles at the time. He was first an Associate Deputy Attorney General from May of 2019 to January of 2020, serving as a principal advisor to the Deputy Attorney General, while also overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, and Tax Division’s civil and criminal work. United States Attorney Shah also previously served as an Assistant Deputy Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) for about seven months, from January to July of 2020, before being appointed as the First Assistant United States Attorney to former U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox on July 13, 2020. As the Assistant Deputy Attorney General of the ENRD, U.S. Attorney Shah was responsible for directly supervising about 75 trial lawyers that worked on high-profile investigations and prosecutions across the United States. During his almost two years of work under the U.S. Department of Justice, Prerak Shah has demonstrated extraordinary contributions, particularly in handling controversial litigations and providing assistance in the advancement of several mission-critical objectives.
Court Admissions
Erin A. Nealy Cox, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, has commended Prerak Shah for his remarkable depth of experience within both the federal and state government, as well as in the private sector. The United States Attorney Prerak Shah has been granted court admittance to several federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Eastern District Court of Texas, the Northern District Court of Texas, the Western District Court of Texas, and the Southern District/Bankruptcy Court of Texas.
Office Jurisdiction
Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Prerak Shah now faces the responsibility of overseeing a staff of approximately 250 attorneys and employees. In addition, as the new Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer of the Northern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Shah shall now be accountable for the 100 counties covered by the district, as well as the approximately eight million residents under his jurisdiction. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas has five division offices, which shall be managed by U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. These offices are in charge of vigorously enforcing the laws, along with promoting a peaceful and lawful community by handling federal criminal prosecutions and defending the interest of the United States in all civil litigations within the district. Moreover, the Office shall collect all debts owed to the United States.
Contact Details
Full Name: Prerak Shah
District/State: Northern District of Texas
Public email ID: [email protected]
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
Public Affairs Officer, NDTX
[email protected]
214-659-8707
Social Media Profiles of Prerak Shah
LinkedIn
Username: Prerak Shah
URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prerak-shah-80781911/
Facebook
Username: 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
Twitter Fields
Office
Username: US Attorney N. Texas
Tag: @NDTXnews
URL: https://twitter.com/ndtxnews
Personal
Username: U.S. Attorney Shah
Tag: @USAttyShah
URL: https://twitter.com/usattyshah
Updated: January 27, 2021
Attorney Chad E. Meacham has been named the new Acting State’s Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Find his bio here.
Updated: November 3, 2021