Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, the first woman to serve as chief district in Texas, has joined Dallas trial firm Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, a firm founded in 2003 by her husband, Mike Lynn. 

Lynn, who was appointed as a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas in 1999 by President Bill Clinton, retired as of Aug. 1, and started working as a partner at Lynn Pinker later in August, although she said her official start date is Sept. 15. After 25 years on the bench, she said, it wastime to return to private practice.

"I felt like it was time to make room for someone else to do it. I had a wonderful job that was very meaningful…I accomplished my goals, but I wasn’t ready to hang it up and not work," she said.

Lynn said she moved to Lynn Pinker, because it is a "fine firm," and she is "still raring to go and be a lawyer."

She was chief judge from 2016 to 2022. While on the bench, Lynn presided over some controversial  and important trials, and wrote opinions that shaped national precedent. Those rulings include the 2011 ruling in Halliburton Co.v. Erica P. John Fund, which resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court reversing the Fifth Circuit, citingher analysis.

“Judge Lynn’s reputation for integrity, wisdom, and mentorship is unmatched,” Chris Schwegmann, Lynn Pinker's managing partner, wrote in a press release.

“Her commitment to empowering the next generation of lawyers is something we deeply admire,and we look forward to learning from her, being challenged by her insights, and growing togetheras a firm. Having Judge Lynn with us is an honor, and we are excited for the future.”

Lynn said she will do what the firm wants her to do, but she expects to do trial and litigation consulting, corporate and government investigations, special master work, and mediation and arbitration.

Prior to moving to the federal bench, Lynn was a partner at Dallas' Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal. At that firm she was the first woman associate and first woman partner. She graduated first in her class from Southern Methodist University School of Law (now SMU DedmanSchool of Law) in 1976.

Sarah S. Vance, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, wrote in the press release that "Judge Lynn's retirement is a great loss to the judiciary, but she will no doubt continue to serve the profession she loves for years to come.”