Douglas D. Rudolph

Getting charged with a crime can be a scary experience. Not knowing how your future will be affected can be paralyzing. My practice was built on the principle: Innocent until proven guilty. Being charged with a crime doesn’t always mean you did something wrong. Good people make mistakes, and everyone deserves a proper defense. You want an experienced attorney you can not only trust to get your case dismissed or obtain another favorable result, but who knows what you’re going through. My personal and professional experiences make me that attorney – experiences that have motivated and inspired me to help people protect their rights.  

As an attorney, I refuse to back down, doing whatever it takes to achieve winning results.  I began my law practice as a criminal defense attorney in Minnesota in 2016, carefully preparing cases and aggressively defending clients in criminal court for felony and misdemeanor-level offenses.  Having since transferred my law firm to Connecticut, my practice is further built upon my experience at the New Haven Public Defenders Office and the New Haven Legal Assistance Association. I take client relations and customer service very seriously.  I pride myself on being responsive, diligent, and accessible - you can contact me via text, phone, or email any day at any time. I understand my clients may be concerned, worried, and appreciate being kept in the loop every step of the way. Your experience with me as your attorney matters to me.

I am not your average attorney. My commitment to advocacy spans across personal, political, and legal spheres. My past experiences have led me to a much deeper empathy for individuals charged with a crime, and I make it my mission to provide dedicated representation resulting in favorable outcome. Before becoming a lawyer, I was a leading national advocate. I regularly collaborated with federal agencies, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the United Nations, and other organizations and partners to improve addiction-recovery resources across the nation. I made it my mission to push national and state legislation in many areas, from second-chance legislation for offenders on the state level to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act on the federal level. I co-founded Young People in Recovery (“YPR”), a national grassroots advocacy organization focused on supporting young people in or seeking recovery from addiction. As co-founder and Policy Director of YPR, I created a national-level initiative that incorporates education, employment, and secure housing as critical components of maintained recovery. I created YPR’s advocacy agenda, which focused on raising awareness of – and reducing barriers to – the many pathways to recovery. I helped mobilize over 100 chapters throughout the United States to further the mission and agenda of YPR.  

I have seen how criminal charges can dramatically affect people’s lives without proper representation. Too many people fall through the cracks of a criminal justice system— oftentimes through no other reason than not having the right lawyer.  My experience as a lawyer and advocate on the front lines of a national social movement make me the right lawyer, on whom you can rely and trust to get the job done. My personal and professional experience sets me apart from other criminal attorneys, giving me a unique perspective and empathetic commitment for your situation.  You are more than a client: you are a person who matters.

Education

• J.D., Western New England School of Law

• B.A., Augsburg College

Bar Admissions

• State of Connecticut

• State of Minnesota