Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Announces New Appoint­ments to Senior Lead­er­ship Team

Today, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced new appointments to his senior leadership team.

Rob Farquharson will serve as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy. He will be leading some of the OAG's most important litigation protecting our state and our citizens-including matters related to border security, protecting Texans' freedoms, and defending Texans' way of life. Ryan D. Walters, who has fought for Texans for years in various roles at the OAG-including most recently as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy-will be serving the people of Texas in a new capacity as the Deputy Director and General Counsel of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Office of the Ombudsman.

Justin Gordon will serve as Deputy Attorney General for Administration, as well as continue in his role as General Counsel. Mr. Gordon will be providing legal counsel and strategic guidance to the Office of the Attorney General, reviewing and implementing OAG policies and procedures, supporting critical state litigation, and assisting on OAG information and technology projects. In these roles, he will oversee the following divisions: General Counsel, Data and Information Services, Facilities and Asset Management, Procurement and Contract Operations, Grants Administration, Accounting, Budget, and Fiscal Management and External Reporting.

Michael Cotton will serve as Chair of the Opinion Committee. He will be leading the Committee in conducting research, drafting formal legal opinions, and advising state agencies, state officials, and local government officials on complex questions of law.

Andrea Haim will serve as the Deputy Chief of the Healthcare Program Enforcement Division. She will be protecting the integrity of Texas' healthcare programs and fighting to stop the radical transgender movement.

"Rob, Justin, Michael, and Andrea all have a proven track record of delivering for Texans and doing incredible work in my office, and I'm excited to announce their appointments to these new roles," said Attorney General Paxton. "Each of them has shown a dedication to the people of Texas and their work, and I have no doubt they will continue to help deliver victory after victory for the Lone Star State. I'd also like to thank Ryan Walters, who has been serving as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy, for his years of fighting for Texans at the OAG and wish him the best in his new role where I know he will continue to serve our state and our students."

Rob Farquharson joined the Office of the Attorney General in 2023 and most recently served as Deputy Chief of the Consumer Protection Division. In that role, he helped lead Attorney General Paxton's efforts to keep men out of women's sports, stopped radical doctors from performing transgender medical treatments on children, and led investigations into Texas Antifa cells. He also played key roles in securing victories against a lawless Biden border NGO in Paxton v. Annunciation House and developing the legal landscape for personal jurisdiction over out-of-state internet businesses in State v. Yelp. Most recently, when rogue Texas lawmakers broke quorum and left the State to prevent congressional redistricting, Mr. Farquharson obtained a Temporary Restraining Order to cut-off their funding and end the deceptive fundraising scheme behind it. Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, Mr. Farquharson practiced commercial litigation at a national law firm and worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Collin County. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas and his law degree from the University of Arizona.

Prior to his appointment as General Counsel in 2023, Justin Gordon served for nine years as Chief of the Open Records Division. In that role, he implemented Attorney General Paxton's open government initiatives, managing a team that issued hundreds of thousands of open records decisions and delivered open government training across Texas. Mr. Gordon began his career in state service at the OAG in 2006 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Open Records Division, where he served as a drafting attorney and senior managing attorney until 2011. He then joined the Office of the Governor as an Assistant General Counsel, where he handled a broad range of legal matters. He returned to the OAG as a member of Attorney General Paxton's administration in 2015. Mr. Gordon is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor Law School.

Michael Cotton joined the OAG in November of 2025 and previously served as Deputy Chief of the Opinion Committee. Prior to joining the OAG, Mr. Cotton was a litigator with a focus on appellate and constitutional law, including in the appellate group of one of the nation's largest law firms. He began his career as a law clerk for the Honorable Don R. Willett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Cotton received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Law Review.

Andrea Haim joined the Healthcare Program Enforcement Division in August 2025 where she manages multiple high-profile cases and investigations involving Texas Medicaid fraud and violations of S.B. 14, which bans harmful gender interventions on children. She filed the first healthcare fraud claims in the country against doctors and hospitals for fraudulently billing gender interventions on children and young adults. She also fights fraud, waste, and abuse on behalf of Texas taxpayers. Prior to working at the OAG, Ms. Haim was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas where she primarily worked in affirmative civil enforcement involving healthcare and government contractor fraud. Ms. Haim started her career at two prominent law firms in Houston, Texas. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and Columbia Law School.