DALLAS - By all accounts, first Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Stephens was the quintessential leader and team player at the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas.

Hired by then-U.S. Attorney Eldon Mahon in 1971, Stephens rose to the No. 2 spot at the federal prosecutor's office within six years. He served under eight U.S. attorneys, mentoring scores of young attorneys and managing the office in the shadow of his high-profile bosses. For a few years, he filled in as interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, most recently from Feb. 11, 2001, to April 21, 2002.

Stephens, 63, retired this month after 30 years as a federal prosecutor, but just as he planned to kick back for his first week of retirement, he was back in the courtroom: Jury duty called him to juvenile court last week.

The decision to retire wasn't easy, given how much he liked his work, Stephens said Thursday.

"I enjoyed the camaraderie at the office, working with new attorneys, helping them develop," he said. "As first assistant, you're over everything. It's the job satisfaction of doing something for society, of making the community a safe place both to live and do business."

To his friends, it came as no surprise that about 350 present and former colleagues, community leaders, federal judges and many federal agents attended a reception in his honor at the Earle Cabell Federal Building in Dallas on Jan. 10.

"Richard is universally respected; he has a great amount of common sense and is very approachable," said former U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins, now in private practice, whom Stephens hired fresh out of Harvard Law School.

Coggins particularly remembers Stephens' advice on ethical questions. When Coggins later was appointed North Texas' top federal prosecutor during the Clinton administration, he said he was glad to count on Stephens as his first assistant.

"The amazing thing at his retirement party was that there were more retired federal agents than currently serving agents. That's how far back he goes," Coggins said.

Stephens would make a great law school professor, Coggins said, particularly in the area of legal ethics.

After years of supervising prosecutions of white-collar crooks or drug dealers and defending the government against lawsuits, Stephens is pondering new challenges in the legal arena, at least part time.

But first, he and his wife, Karen, a retired elementary school teacher, plan to embark on a backpacking and snowshoeing trip to Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. He will use the time on the trails to reflect on his future, he said.

He will continue to volunteer at Crossroads Community Center in downtown Dallas, where he assists homeless people and teaches classes on financial planning and budgeting. He's also pondering whether to go into a private firm or teach at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law and Cox School of Business.

U.S. Attorney Jane Boyle established an award in Stephens' honor to be presented annually to an assistant U.S. attorney who best exemplifies "selfless devotion, personal courage and professional fairness."

"Richard Stephens was a positive influence on the lives of countless young lawyers who passed through the U.S. attorney's office during his 30 years of service," Boyle said. "He is a true professional whose leadership and humility inspired us all."