Our Story

Our approach to clients

A huge part of this work is interacting with clients. Often, criminal defense lawyers don’t seem to actually like their clients. This is clear from the way they treat them in and out of court.

But just like you notice when a lawyer treats a client poorly, you also notice when a lawyer has genuine respect. That’s how we first noticed one another. Our approach is simple: we treat clients like human beings with intrinsic value, no matter the accusations against them.

In the words of lawyer Bryan Stevenson, each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

And it’s not just talk; it’s action. We’ve invited clients into our homes and have attended milestone events such as weddings. We connect with our clients in the way that’s best for them, and we treat them the way we would treat anyone else we might meet in life. It’s a simple concept that’s lost on far too many defense lawyers.

When we founded the firm, true client-centered lawyering was a priority.

Our approach to cases

During our careers, we’ve both worked in atmospheres that valued completion over collaboration. So when we began discussing starting a firm, another goal was to rethink the way most criminal defense lawyers practice law.

The normal model is to “eat what you kill” — you get your own case, you work your own case, and when you’re done you move on to your next case. Not only is this lonely, but it also stunts professional growth and development. Most importantly from the client’s perspective, the one-lawyer model limits the creativity and thinking that can be employed to help a client’s case.

Two heads really are better than one. We both are experienced lawyers, but neither of us knows it all. When we pool our collective knowledge, however, the insights and results can be remarkable.

That’s what we do at Ringstrom DeKrey.

Nobody has their own cases. Every case is the firm’s case, worked by a team. That means weekly meetings to discuss case progress and trajectory. That means running focus groups on cases set for trial. And that means asking for input from everyone who works here, not just the lawyers.

Our work as public defenders

Just as great trauma surgeons have gained expertise working in war zones, and topflight commercial airline pilots have honed their skills serving in the military, being public defenders turned us into the lawyers we are today. Often, private defense lawyers don’t like to tell their clients they used to be public defenders. But we don’t shy away from that part of our careers; if anything, we wear it proudly as a badge of honor.

Public defenders are burdened with the largest caseloads and most complex cases. But the way they’re often at the forefront of the law is exciting. On the other hand, the sheer volume of work can be crushing. We both accepted the weight, fighting ceaselessly for thousands of clients. The result is that we experienced and triumphed over many of the hardest facts a lawyer can face. In doing so, we gained more criminal defense experience in our first five years than some private criminal defense lawyers gain in their entire careers.

When we sit down to work on your case, chances are very good that we’ve seen such a case before, and gotten someone the best possible result in the same situation. Thousands of cases, hundreds of motions, dozens of trials. We’ve litigated the ugliest facts in criminal defense.

We’re ready for any criminal case; we’re ready for your case.

As lawyers thinking about private practice, we both wanted a public defender in the proverbial foxhole with us. And that’s exactly we got.

So that’s why we started Ringstrom DeKrey.

It’s the law firm we’ve always dreamed of, doing the work we’ve always dreamed of, with the values we’ve always dreamed of.

We can’t take every case, but if we work with you, we’ll share our passion and commitment to excellence in your time of need.