Ever since President Donald Trump abruptly ordered 46 Obama-era U.S. attorneys to resign their posts in May, there's been a steady trickle of law firm announcements around the country trumpeting their hires. Here's what the announcements don't say: For many career prosecutors, the transition to private practice is a nerve-racking leap of faith.

Just ask Richard Roper.

Roper, a partner at Thompson & Knight in Dallas, was appointed by then-President George W. Bush to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 2004 through 2008. When he joined Thompson & Knight in early 2009, he'd spent his entire career since graduating from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1982 as a prosecutor, first for the state and then the federal government,