Ryan Schmidt is a trial-tested attorney and former prosecutor with more than two decades of courtroom experience. His practice is built on meeting clients where they are and providing powerful, trauma-informed advocacy — a perspective shaped by years spent on both sides of the courtroom.
Ryan began his legal career as a prosecutor in Norman and Wright Counties, Minnesota, handling both adult and juvenile cases. He then moved to Arizona, where he spent nearly 15 years with the Pima County Attorney’s Office in Tucson, trying cases in the Misdemeanor, Violent Crimes, and Special Victims Units. In 2013, he was named supervisor of the Vehicular Offenses Unit, overseeing the prosecution of all Pima County homicides involving impaired or distracted driving. During his six years in that role, Ryan trained police and prosecutors across the region on investigating and prosecuting DUI and homicide cases — work that earned him multiple awards from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and nominations for Arizona’s statewide victim advocacy award.
Ryan later led the Special Assault Unit in Juvenile Court for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, successfully handling hundreds of felony and misdemeanor cases while training police, prosecutors, and victim advocates on investigating sensitive crimes, drafting search warrants, and building strong cases for trial.
Over his career, Ryan has handled thousands of misdemeanor and felony matters. That depth of courtroom and leadership experience — built entirely from inside prosecutors’ offices — gives him a rare, inside-out understanding of how the state builds, negotiates, and tries its cases.
Today, Ryan brings that experience to the defense side, providing aggressive, strategic representation for his clients. Having spent decades evaluating evidence and managing complex litigation from the prosecution’s chair, he knows how to anticipate the state’s strategy, spot the weaknesses in its case, and fight for the best possible outcome for the people he represents.