For over 40 years, Bruce Ringstrom Sr. has practiced law in nearly every Minnesota county north and west of St. Cloud. Often compared favorably to the best-known criminal defense lawyers in Minnesota, Bruce Sr. is widely regarded as a giant of the criminal defense bar.

Bruce Sr. grew up in the small town of Devils Lake, North Dakota. Because of his father’s career, he ended up graduating from high school in Jamestown, North Dakota.

After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy and became a nuclear engineer, operating the nuclear reactor on a submarine. After six years of service, Bruce Sr. was honorably discharged and confronted with the decision we all face when young — what to do with his life.

Inspired by a TV interview of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, Bruce Sr. decided he wanted to become a lawyer. To that end, he attended college at Eastern Montana, graduating with honors in 1976.

His academic prowess was rewarded when he was offered a full scholarship to attend the University of Minnesota for law school.

While in law school, Bruce Sr. rubbed shoulders with classmates who would become preeminent members of the Minnesota criminal defense community.

After graduation, Bruce Sr. started his career in Mora, Minnesota, practicing law in fields he didn’t particularly care for. But in 1981, that all changed when he was offered the chance to become a public defender in Moorhead, Minnesota. He jumped at the opportunity, packed his bags, and headed north.

Upon arrival, Bruce Sr. quickly developed a reputation for excellence. The judges and prosecutors weren’t accustomed to a defense lawyer so aggressively and creatively defending his clients.

After 15 years of building a private practice while also representing public defender clients, Bruce Sr. became the head of the public defender’s office for Clay and Becker Counties in Minnesota. During his tenure, Bruce Sr. tried and won some of the most notorious criminal cases in the region.

When Bruce Sr. retired from the public defender’s office, he had earned the respect of fellow lawyers, opposing counsel, and judges and court staff alike. If Bruce Sr. was the lawyer of record on a case, everyone knew they were likely in for a fight. A fair fight — guided by reason and law — but a hell of a battle all the same. Within a month of retiring, Bruce Sr. was being privately retained in high-profile cases, and winning them.

But Bruce Sr. couldn’t completely leave public defense alone. In retirement, he took a contract defending prisoners in HRU hearings (what in other states might be called “parole violation hearings”). In the process, he became one of the most experienced lawyers in the state in these kinds of hearings.

To this day, Bruce Sr. is one of the few lawyers actually well-qualified to be privately retained for a Minnesota DOC HRU hearing.

In the ensuing years, Bruce Sr. has teamed up with Bruce Jr. to get not-guilty verdicts in felony jury trials, felony court trials, many dismissals of serious charges, and all manner of favorable resolutions for their clients. 

This reputation for tenacity still rings out throughout the region to this day, as it’s nearly impossible to mention Bruce Sr.’s name in any courthouse in northwest Minnesota without someone having a “Bruce war story” at the ready.

For some, these successes would be enough, but not for Bruce Sr. While others his age have long ago retired, Bruce Sr. is still going strong. He maintains a robust practice at Ringstrom DeKrey and also serves as the firm’s elder statesman, mentoring young lawyers and interns alike. He gets to work on those particular cases that interest him and play to his strengths. This benefits his clients enormously.

Bruce Sr.’s mark on the law in this part of Minnesota is unmistakable and won’t soon be forgotten, and he continues to bring his passion and commitment to every case he handles.