Attorney Profile

ROXANN PAIS

Assistant City Attorney

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas

 

 

 

Special Projects

Roxann Pais joined the Dallas City Attorney's Office in 1996. Ms. Pais has published two books, taught at over thirty national conferences and has received three National Achievement Awards from the United States Department of Justice for creative legal strategies to reduce crime in Dallas, Texas. From 2001-2008, she was the Chief of Community Prosecution and Community Court. Currently, she works directly with City Attorney to advise the Dallas City Council on innovative strategies that will improve the overall quality of life in Dallas.

Education

• Harvard Law School
  32nd Program of Instruction for Lawyers, 2000

• St. Mary's University School of Law
  J.D., 1995

• Georgetown University Law Center
  Visiting Student, 1993

• University of Texas at Austin
  B.A. in Government, 1992

• La Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
  Cursos Internacionales Spanish Concentration, 1989

Affiliations & Activities

• Recipient, 2006 Project Safe Neighborhoods National Achievement Award
• Recipient, American Prosecutors Research Institute Community Prosecution Iceberg Award 2006
• Recipient, Hero Of Old East Dallas Community Heart And Soul Award 2006
• Recipient, City of Dallas Employee Wall of Honor Award 2006
• Admitted to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, April 1997
• Faculty Member, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, 2001-Present
• Member, National District Attorneys Association
• Barrister, Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court
• TXCLEOSE Certified Instructor
• Admitted to the State Bar of Texas, November 1995

Publications & Presentations

• Speaker, Dealing with Foreclosures and Abandoned Property, Creating Safer Communities Through Community Prosecution, Chicago, IL, May 21-23, 2008.
• Faculty Member, Creating Safer Communities, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, November 28-30, 2007.
• Co-presenter, Crime and Safety: The Impact of High Crime Rates on Quality of Life and Neighborhood Wellbeing, The J. McDonald Williams Institute 3rd Annual Conference, Dallas, TX, October 22, 2007.
• Co-presenter, The Role of Community Courts, U.S. Department of Justice, Community Capacity Development Office Conference, Detroit, MI, August 20-23, 2007.
• Speaker, Measuring and Sustaining Community Prosecution, 3rd National Community Prosecution Conference, San Diego, CA, October 3-5, 2006.
• Speaker, The Role of Community Courts, Community Capacity Development Office Law Enforcement Conference, Phoenix, AZ, August 16, 2006.
• Faculty Member, Trial Advocacy I, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, August 11-17, 2006.
• Speaker, Getting Started with Community Prosecution, Advanced Community Prosecution Workshop, Austin, TX, November 1-3, 2005.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution, U.S. Attorney's Office Conference, Ft. Worth, TX, September 27, 2005.
• Advisor, Community Problem-Solving, Consortium on Community Problem Solving, New York, NY, March 8-9, 2005.
• Advisor, Project Safe Neighborhoods, Ft. Worth, TX, November 8, 2004.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution, Stop Trashing Texas Seminar, Houston, TX, November 4, 2004.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution and Strategies to Reduce Gun Crime, Advanced Community Prosecution Workshop, Atlanta, GA, September 28-30, 2004.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Boca Raton, FL, June 29-30, 2004.
• Speaker, Community Courts, Weed & Seed Law Enforcement Coordination Training Workshop, Buffalo, NY, May 17-20, 2004.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution Partnerships, American Prosecutors Research Institute, Dallas, TX, March 9-13, 2004.
• Author and Speaker, Community Prosecution: Getting Started, American Prosecutors Research Institute, Dallas, TX, March 9-13, 2004.
• Advisor, Community Prosecution, Executive Office of the United States President, Dallas, TX, February 12, 2004.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution in Dallas, Texas , Community Prosecution National Leadership Site Symposium, Minneapolis, MN, September 25-26, 2003.
• Author and Speaker, Community Prosecution: Getting Started, 2nd National Community Prosecution Conference, Washington, D.C., April 13-16, 2003.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution: Working with Distinct Communities, 2nd National Community Prosecution Conference, Washington, D.C., April 13-16, 2003
• Speaker, Team Texas "Drop the Gun": Community Prosecution and Project Safe Neighborhoods, Dallas, TX, January 22, 2003.
• Advisor, Community Prosecution Symposium, Alexandria, VA, November 7-8, 2002.
• Author and Speaker, Community Prosecution: Getting Started, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, March 18-22, 2002.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution: Abating Nuisance Houses, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, March 18-22, 2002.
• Speaker, Community Prosecution: City Attorney + City Codes = Long Term Solutions, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, March 18-22, 2002.
• Advisor, Community Prosecution Symposia, Alexandria, VA, February 21-22, 2002.
• Advisor, Community Prosecution: Strategic Planning Focus Group, Washington, D.C., December 2001.
• Author and Speaker, Community Prosecution: Getting Started, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, August 27-30, 2001.
• Speaker, Advanced Community Prosecution: Abating Nuisance Houses, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, August 27-30, 2001.
• Speaker, Advanced Community Prosecution: Community Prosecution and the Emerging Role of City Attorneys, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC, August 27-30, 2001.
• Author, Training Manual for the Urban Rehabilitation Standards Board, 2000.
• Author, Code Book, 1999.

Prior Experience

• Judicial Clerk to the 288 th District Court of Texas, Judge Frank Montalvo
• Law Clerk to U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Washington D.C., Summer 1994
• Law Clerk to U.S. Congressman Kika De La Garza, Washington D.C., Summer 1993
• Legislative Aide to Texas State Representative Robert Earley, 1990-91