Texas Office of Attorney General
08/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/01/2024 08:48
Attorney General Ken Paxton Appoints New Deputy First Assistant Attorney General and Announces Senior Staff Promotions
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced several senior staff promotions, appointing Ralph Molina as Deputy First Assistant Attorney General, Joseph Mazzara as Special Counsel to the Attorney General and to the First Assistant Attorney General, Ryan Baasch as Associate Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation, and Amy Hilton as Chief of the Healthcare Program Enforcement Division.
"I am pleased to congratulate Ralph, Joseph, Ryan, and Amy, who have been indispensable assets to our agency. Their expertise has helped us deliver on the promise of liberty and justice for Texas," said Attorney General Paxton. "Our team of dedicated public servants works tirelessly to protect the rights of Texans, defend our Constitution, and make our State proud."
Ralph Molina, Deputy First Assistant Attorney General
Mr. Molina was appointed Deputy First Assistant Attorney General. He most recently served as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy, managing the Legal Strategy Division and the Special Litigation Division. In this role, he provided critical guidance and oversight over the most important litigation to the State of Texas. During law school, Mr. Molina clerked in both the General Litigation Division and the Administrative Law Division. After graduating from Yale University and the University of Texas School of Law, he joined the OAG permanently in August 2019, serving in the Special Litigation Division and the General Litigation Division before joining Attorney General Paxton's executive team as Special Counsel to the First Assistant Attorney General.
"I am honored to serve as Deputy First Assistant Attorney General," said Mr. Molina. "I am extremely grateful to Attorney General Paxton for giving me the opportunity to serve the great state of Texas in this critical role, and I look forward to continuing to work with him and First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster as we provide the highest level of representation to Texas."
Joseph N. Mazzara, Special Counsel to the Attorney General and to the First Assistant Attorney General
Mr. Mazzara will serve as Special Counsel to the Attorney General and to the First Assistant Attorney General. Previously, he was Assistant Solicitor General, litigating some of the State's most significant cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Texas Supreme Court. Prior to joining the OAG in September 2022, Mr. Mazzara clerked for the Honorable Edith H. Jones, Brantley Starr, and Stephen A. Vaden. In 2020, he served as in-house counsel for President Trump's national re-election campaign. Mr. Mazzara, a graduate of George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, served in the United States Marine Corps and is a decorated combat veteran.
Ryan Baasch, Associate Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation
Mr. Baasch will serve as Associate Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation. He most recently served as Chief of the Consumer Protection Division. Mr. Baasch joined the OAG in October 2021 as Assistant Solicitor General, successfully litigating and arguing some of the most important appeals to the State, including its victories in Texas v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Abbott v. Biden, and its ongoing litigation in Netchoice v. Paxton. In July 2023, Ryan was appointed Chief of the Consumer Protection Division, initiating several "first-of-its-kind" lawsuits. Those lawsuits include a consumer protection challenge to the efficacy of Pfizer's COVID vaccines, challenges to hotel booking platforms over misleading room rate advertisements, and enforcement against border nonprofits for abuses of their corporate charters and violations of law. Mr. Baasch started his career as a law clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Before joining OAG, he worked for one of the largest law firms in the country, litigating countless challenges to unlawful federal regulatory orders, consumer protection actions, and class action lawsuits affecting clients in highly specialized industries, including pharmaceuticals and telecommunications. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
Amy Hilton, Chief of the Healthcare Program Enforcement Division
Ms. Hilton will serve as Chief of the Healthcare Program Enforcement Division. She most recently served as Managing Attorney for the Special Litigation Division, bringing high-profile cases against the federal government challenging unlawful federal regulatory actions. Ms. Hilton joined the OAG in 2016 and began her career in the Civil Medicaid Fraud Division, where she was involved in complex litigation against major pharmaceutical companies. After three years with CMF, she transferred to the General Litigation Division, where she handled multiple jury trials and led and won key cases against the federal government, including Texas v. Becerra (an EMTALA case) and Lubbock ISD v. Becerra (a COVID mandate case), and was assigned to high-profile litigation against Planned Parenthood. After taking leave to represent Attorney General Paxton against impeachment, Ms. Hilton returned to the Special Litigation Division at the OAG. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and Regent University School of Law.