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Professor Pierce earned her J.D., cum laude from ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ Dedman School of Law in 2002. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable David C. Godbey, U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Texas, before joining the Litigation Section of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP.'s Dallas office, where she worked for five years on federal securities, constitutional law, trademark, copyright, and employment cases.

Professor Pierce next served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Dallas for 12 years, where she prosecuted a variety of offenses including hate crimes, violent crimes, organized crime, and fraud. She also served as the Human Trafficking Coordinator in the Northern District of Texas for 8 years, and she prosecuted over 80 human trafficking cases. During her time at the Department of Justice, Professor Pierce was honored with the Department of Homeland Security Director’s Award, the Texas Gang Investigator’s Association’s Prosecutor of the Year Award, and Traffick911’s Warrior for Justice Award.

Professor Pierce’s passion for human trafficking reform led her to join the Texas Attorney General’s office as Chief of the Human Trafficking Division. In that role, she chaired the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Taskforce, leading Texas’ legislative efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex by making it a felony to buy sex from an adult and to raise the age to work at sexually oriented businesses to 21. In addition, Professor Pierce served as the State of Texas’s human trafficking subject matter expert, testifying in federal courts and legislative hearings.

Professor Pierce previously served as an adjunct professor in Civil Procedure at William and Mary School of Law and Professional Responsibility at Texas Wesleyan School of Law. At ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ Dedman Law, her teaching focuses on human trafficking and hate crimes, criminal law, and civil and criminal procedure. Professor Pierce also serves as the Director for the Master of Legal Studies program.