I went to law school because I want to help people. Before law school, I was a public school teacher.

In my first year of law school, I founded The Student Plaintiffs Bar. This organization was my school’s first student group for law students who want to represent injured people. I worked hand in hand with the local plaintiffs lawyers to educate my peers on representing injured plaintiffs, learning everything they had to teach about the field along the way. I completed internships at civil rights and legal aide organizations, and spent a year in the law school Civil Litigation Clinic.

After school, I spent three years as a public defender in rural and suburban Minnesota. I was planning to use that position as a source of courtroom experience. It was meant to be a learning ground for getting comfortable in trials and negotiations. In that time I took seven cases through trial to verdict, prepared dozens more for trial, conducted frequent contested motions hearings, and negotiated in a ruthlessly pro-prosecution jurisdiction. I got good at telling my client’s stories in ways that judges actually care about, focusing less on what the law says and more on what it lets them do for real people. I built my skills in selecting and connecting with jurors and witnesses, and presenting my cases as narratives that juries care about. I developed a legal philosophy built on pragmatism and a central focus on the real impact cases have on my clients’ lives.

The skills I built as a public defender translate directly to representing injured plaintiffs, where what cases I take and how I tell my clients’ stories determine whether I can help people or just burn through their time and money.

What I was not expecting was how much I loved the daily work of criminal defense litigation. Showing up in moments where my clients were accused of crimes gave me the same sense of accomplishment and service that I had previously associated with getting victims’ bills paid.

In April 2024, while I was still working as a Minnesota public defender, I ruptured my Achilles tendon at a parkour gym. I had every advantage: income, health insurance, and low living expenses, but I still found myself facing unexpected medical bills. Even though I had high quality health insurance, my provider picked and chose which expenses they would cover. I spent weeks wondering how anyone without my advantages was supposed to avoid bankruptcy. Helping injured people had always been the goal, but literally learning to walk again in their medical assistance boots gave me the language to best represent personal injury plaintiffs.

I run my business so that I can help people who are in the worst situation of their lives. Sometimes because they are figuring out life after a major injury. Other times because they stand accused of a crime. After three years as a full time public defender, I know my way around a court case. I have fought and won them under overwhelming circumstances. My plaintiffs work is contingency-based, meaning I take a percentage of what I win my clients. I charge a flat fee for criminal defense work. I take pride in never surprising a client with a bill. You will know exactly what you are paying for my services by the end of our first meeting.