Neal Rackleff will return to Locke Lord in Texas after serving for 15 months as a high-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C.

Rackleff left his job as assistant secretary for community planning and development in mid-November and will start back at Locke Lord on Dec. 14, returning as a partner in the firm’s affordable housing and community development section. He will be based in Houston and Austin.