Watkins began his legal career working in the offices of the
Dallas city attorney and the Dallas County
Public Defender's office and later went into
private practice. In 2002, Watkins ran for district attorney against incumbent
Republican Bill Hill and lost. Watkins won the 2006 district attorney election over prosecutor Toby Shook in an election cycle that saw Democrats every elected office on the ballot, including all judicial seats. The official biography of Watkins written by his office writes that Watkins secured a 99.4% conviction rate and focused on prosecuting cases of
child sexual abuse. Watkins created the first Conviction Integrity Unit in the nation resulting in 35 wrongfully convicted individuals being freed under his administration. Watkins worked to resolve cases of
wrongful conviction through the use of
DNA testing and the review of evidence illegally withheld from defense attorneys. On January 4, 2011,
Ray Suarez interviewed Watkins live on the
PBS NewsHour for the exoneration by Watkins's office of
Cornelius Dupree from Dupree's armed robbery conviction. Upon leaving office, Watkins entered private practice focusing on criminal defense and personal injury in state and federal courts. The
Dallas Morning News selected Watkins as its 2008 Texan of the Year. Watkins was a member of The National Trial Lawyers Association, The Texas Trial Lawyers Association and The Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Public records indicate that Watkins' annual salary as of May 2012 was $200,000. ==Personal life and death==