Baltazar Salazar

Baltazar Salazar joined Atlas, Hall and Rodriguez, LLP in June 2026 as a litigation attorney in the Brownsville office. Prior to joining the Firm, he served with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. He brings to the Firm a distinguished record of federal trial and appellate experience and leverages his background to represent clients in the following areas: complex commercial litigation, general litigation, business litigation, bankruptcy & creditor’s rights, and real estate law.

During his seven-and-a-half-year tenure as a federal prosecutor, Baltazar successfully handled a wide-variety of complex civil cases from intake to trial verdict, post-judgment and interlocutory appeals, and high-stakes criminal prosecutions. His experience includes defending the federal government against tort and Bivens actions; immigration litigation; employment discrimination cases; administrative, FOIA, and agency action challenges under federal statute. Baltazar served as the lead AUSA for the Southern District of Texas in prosecuting eminent domain actions on behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection throughout the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo Division; and represented U.S. agency creditors in Chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcy proceedings throughout South Texas. He additionally handled criminal investigations, sentencings, and served as co-lead attorney in a successful criminal jury trial that garnered national attention; as a result, prior to joining the Firm, he was honored by his office and the Cameron County Bar Association as the Assistant United States Attorney of the Year.

Before joining the DOJ, Baltazar served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Rolando Olvera, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where he managed a complex civil docket and assisted on jury and bench trials across a broad range of civil and criminal matters.

A native of the Rio Grande Valley, Baltazar is a proud graduate of Brownsville’s James Pace High School, the University of Texas at Brownsville (B.A.A.S., magna cum laude), Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law (J.D., cum laude), and Texas A&M University School of Law (LL.M. in Wealth Management). During law school, he served as Articles Editor of the Thurgood Marshall Law Review, President of the Moot Court Board, and was inducted into the Order of Barristers, a prestigious national honor society.

Prior to his legal career, Baltazar served in the United States Army for over five years as an Infantryman, completing two combat tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He separated from the Army as a Sergeant with various combat awards including a Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, and Army Commendation Medal for leading a fire team into battle. Baltazar remains active in the community serving as an active board member of CASA Cameron and Willacy Counties; as coach advisor for Brownsville Veterans High School’s mock trial team; and as an annual volunteer during Constitution Week for the Cameron County Bar Association.