Prior to her appointment, Judge Teal’s legal career was almost entirely with the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General (then the Office of the Corporation Counsel).  She began her career there as a staff attorney in the Child Support Enforcement Section in 1988, and left in June 2003 as Interim Corporation Counsel.  

While at Corporation Counsel, Judge Teal litigated complex cases on behalf of the District of Columbia, and advised Mayor and District of Columbia senior officials regarding the impact of proposed decisions as they relate to implementation of new or established policies.  In the last four years of her tenure at Corporation Counsel, Judge Teal formulated, reviewed, and evaluated all significant legal and policy initiatives of the District of Columbia, and was responsible for strategic decision-making for over sixty different legal functions, affecting as many as 14,000 legal matters at any given time.

Immediately prior to her appointment, Judge Teal was in private practice in Poughkeepsie, New York.  She was appointed Town Attorney for the Town of Amenia, New York in January, 2004.