Her appointment was announced on March 23, 2009, by Yale University President Richard Levin, when former dean Harold Koh was nominated to serve as Legal Adviser of the Department of State.
From 1981 to 1984, Stith was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York under John S. Martin Jr. and Rudy Giuliani, and focused on white collar and organized crime.
Stith served on the Dartmouth College Board of Directors and as Deputy Dean of Yale Law School.
[6] On March 23, 2009, Stith was named Acting Dean of the Yale Law School, the first woman ever to be appointed to lead YLS.
[9] Her book, Fear of Judging, written with her husband, José Cabranes, won a Certificate of Merit from the American Bar Association in 1999.