From January 2001 to June 2003, he served as legal counsel for North Carolina GovernorMike Easley. From July 2001 to June 2003, he also served as a member of the governor's advisory council on Hispanic/Latino affairs. From July 2003 to January 2008, he was a partner with the firm Womble Carlyle.[4]
From 2008 to 2013, Dellinger was a lawyer in the office of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson[4] and a candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of North Carolina. In his first run for elective office, he lost the Democratic primary on May 6, 2008 to Walter H. Dalton.[5] From 2013 to 2020, he was a partner at the Washington, D.C. office of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP.[4] He practiced as a solo practitioner from 2020 to 2021.
On June 18, 2021, he was nominated by the President to serve as the United States Department of Justice's Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy.[7] On July 28, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[8] On September 23, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–8–1 vote.[9] On October 27, 2021, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–45 vote.[10] On October 28, 2021, Dellinger was confirmed by a 53–37 vote.[11] He was sworn in on November 1, 2021.[12]
Dellinger is the son of the law professor and former acting Solicitor General of the United States, Walter E. Dellinger III.[4] He married Jolynn Childers on September 10, 1994.[20]