For over a decade, attorney Dan Gividen has been lauded by the legal community throughout Texas for his tenacity and unparalleled understanding of criminal law and immigration proceedings, and how they apply to the complexities of crimmigration. His career began as law clerk to the Honorable Jorge Solis, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas. Following his clerkship, attorney Gividen authored several briefs supporting post-conviction relief for a well-known criminal defense firm. He was then appointed Assistant Chief Counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2011. In 2014, he was detailed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas. In this role, he served as the lead prosecutor on nearly 200 cases and he first and second chaired multiple jury trials. Between Spring 2016 and the Spring of 2021, attorney Gividen used his experience as a lawyer to empower and educate students as an adjunct professor at UNT Dallas College of Law, teaching immigration law.
Today, attorney Gividen represents a wide variety of clients in criminal and immigration cases at his firm, Gividen Law, PLLC. Few attorneys in the Dallas Fort Worth area contain both the same level of knowledge and the comprehension of complex crimmigration issues as Dan Gividen. He has authored hundreds of briefs on appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He is also the only attorney in recent history to secure pretrial release for a client charged with illegal entry (8 U.S.C. § 1326) in the Northern District of Texas who had no legal status in the United States.
Attorney Gividen has spent his career tirelessly pursuing justice. He is recognized among his peers for his strength of character, comprehensive legal knowledge and his persistence on behalf of his clients.
Practice Areas
Immigration Law
Federal Criminal Law
Appeals
Administrative Removal Proceedings
Federal Litigation of Immigration Issues
Honors
State Bar of Texas, Immigration & Nationality Law Section, Special Services to the Council Award
DBA Immigration Law Section, Immigration Professionalism Award
DHS, Office of General Counsel Award
ICE Director’s Award
Zealous Advocate Award
Professional Associations
Higginbotham Inn of Court, Barister, 2017 to 2021
Dallas Bar Association - Immigration Law Section , Member, 2017 to Present
State Bar of Texas - Immigration Law Section, 2021 to Present
Higginbotham Inn of Court, Associate, 2015 to 2016
Federal Bar, 2020 to Present
Classes & Seminars
“Mechanics of a Prosecutorial Discretion Request”, Dallas Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, 06/17/2021
“Pereida v. Wilkinson"—SCOTUS’ First Immigration Decision of the October 2020 Term, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Dallas Chapter, 04/20/2021
“What’s Next After Matter of Thomas and Thompson”, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Texas Chapter Virtual Fall Conference, 12/11/2020
“Review of SCOTUS 2019 Immigration Decisions and Preview of Immigration During the Next Term”, Dallas Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, 07/14/2020
“Practical Crimmigration”, State Bar of Texas, Annual Meeting on Demand, 06/25/2020
“Emerging Issues in Removal Defense”, State Bar of Texas, Advanced Immigration Law, 02/13/2020
"Urban Advantage Podcast Tackles the Tense and Emotional Topic of DACA, Guest Immigration Law Expert", https://news.untdallas.edu/urban-advantage-podcast-tackles-tense-and-emotional-topic-daca, 01/06/2020
“Overview of Immigration Law and Current Immigration Litigation”, Dallas Bar Association, Thomas Moore Section, 09/05/2019
“Crimmigration: The Intersection of Criminal and Immigration Law”, Dallas County Criminal Practice Seminar, 09/04/2019
“Important Arguments/Issues that Should Be—But Aren’t—Getting Made in Removal Proceedings", American Immigration Lawyers Association, Dallas Chapter, 08/27/2019
“Removal Immigration Court Practice and Case Law Updates” , Dallas Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, 03/12/2019
“Review of Recent Significant SCOTUS, Circuit Court, and BIA Immigration Decisions", Dallas Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, 07/09/2018
“Criminal Prosecutions of Immigration Fraud—Panel Discussion”, U.S. Department of Justice National Advocacy Center, Panelist, 01/27/2017
“The Fog Lifts for the Categorical Approach: Not Really . . . The way Mathis, as evidenced by subsequent circuit decisions, cast more fog on the categorical approach", Dallas Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, 11/08/2016
“A Toolbox for Fact-Based Immigration Conversations”, Higginbotham Inn of Court – Group Presentation, 12/08/2015
“Renteria: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, American Immigration Lawyers Association – Texas Chapter, 07/22/2014
“Anatomy of a Removal Case”, American Immigration Lawyers Association Spring Conference, Texas Chapter, 04/24/2014
Published Works
Texas Firearms Offenses in the Immigration Context (Featured Article), State Bar of Texas Immigration Bulletin, Spring 2021, Volume 2 * No. 1, 2021
“Review of Supreme Court's 2007-08 Criminal Decisions: Statutory Interpretation Sidebar”, National Law Journal, Vol. 29 No. 48, Pg. 13, 2008
Bar Admissions
Texas, 2009
U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 2010
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 2014
Past Positions
University of North Texas Dallas, College of Law, Adjunct Professor - Immigration Law, 2016 to 2021
Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Deputy Chief Counsel, 2016 to 2019
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Special Assistant United States Attorney, 2014 to 2016
Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Assistant Chief Counsel, 2011 to 2014
Sorrels, Udashen, & Anton, Associate Attorney, 2011
The Honorable Jorge A. Solis, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Law Clerk, 2009 to 2010
Education
Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane, Washington
J.D.
Honors: cum laude
Weber State University, Ogden , Utah
B.S.
Honors: magna cum laude
Major: Political Science
Minor: English
