Kristin Etter's background within the federal justice system informs every aspect of what she does at Sumpter & Gonzalez. The experience of serving as an assistant federal public defender makes her unique among private defense attorneys in Central Texas, and her success rate in federal court – where the stakes are often as high as possible – makes her unique even among federal defenders. In her role as a practicing attorney and partner at Sumpter & Gonzalez, she's also defined herself as one of the area's top attorneys in state court. We spoke with her about her competitive nature and the way it influences her practice, why she distrusts authority, and what she'd like to see from the police.

S&G: What attracted you to criminal defense?

Kristin: My last year of law school, people from different programs came and talked to us about what their clinical program was like. I had been considering international law, but a lot of the clinicals sounded boring. Then the federal defender stood up and more ...