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Attorney General Ken Paxton has made a selection of new appointments to round out his executive leadership team. |
Austin Kinghorn will take over as deputy attorney general for civil litigation, transitioning from his most recent role as deputy attorney general for legal strategy. Kinghorn has been with the attorney general’s office since 2020, starting as assistant attorney general for the General Counsel Division before serving as general counsel and associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel. Kinghorn’s career has taken him across multiple leadership roles in the public sector, including staff attorney for the Texas Supreme Court for more than six years, assistant attorney general for the Civil Medicaid Fraud Division and a litigator in the Healthcare Program Enforcement Division. He has a law degree from Baylor Law School and earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin. |
Ryan Walters has been promoted to deputy attorney general for legal strategy. He most recently served as associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation. Prior to his most recent role, he spent four years in the Special Litigation Division, starting as special counsel and later being appointed chief. Walters has worked in several legal capacities throughout his 23-year career. Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, he was an attorney with the Texas Public Policy Foundation for more than four years and an assistant attorney general for the Employment Law Section of the Office of the Ohio Attorney General. Walters has a Master of Laws in Constitutional Law from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from The Ohio State University. |
Billy Cole has been appointed principal deputy solicitor general. Cole has been with the Office of the Attorney General since 2021, starting as an assistant solicitor general. He was promoted to deputy solicitor general in February 2024. Prior to joining the office, Cole worked as an associate attorney and summer associate for a law firm for more than four years and as a law clerk to a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from Pepperdine University. |
