Saldaña went into private practice in Dallas in 1985, first at the firm of Haynes and Boone, where she worked on communications and employment law; and then, for 11 years, at Baker Botts, where she was a trial attorney. Beginning in 1999, Saldaña took five years off to raise her son. She did run for judge in 2002, but fell short in the voting.
When she did return to the courtroom, it was as an assistant U.S. attorney in Dallas in 2004. Saldaña was part of the office’s fraud and public corruption unit and in 2009 helped handle a corruption scandal involving Dallas city officials charged with bribery and extortion in connection with affordable housing contracts. She saw Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill sent away for 18 years.
When President Barack Obama took office in 2009, he had a chance to appoint the U.S. attorney in Dallas. Saldaña, a Democrat, had the backing of Republican Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, but not of the Texas Democratic congressional delegation. Some suspect Democrats withheld their support because of the conviction of Hill. It took 2½ years, but Obama finally nominated Saldaña for the job and she was easily confirmed.