Stephen
Ritchie

Stephen Ritchie has more than a decade of experience as a criminal defense attorney. In 2022, he won the Anthony Savage Award from the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for his outstanding performance and results in trial. His private practice focuses on complex and serious felony cases in State and Federal Court. In addition to his private retained caseload, he is approved by a panel of Federal Judges to serve on the CJA panel for the Western District of Washington, and also serves on the Snohomish County OPD Conflict Panel, where he is qualified to handle all serious matters, including aggravated murders. He also served several terms on the Board of Trustees for the Snohomish County Bar Association.

Prior to establishing his own law firm, Stephen Ritchie was a senior trial attorney for two years at The Mazzone Law Firm. While there, he achieved great results for his clients, including many dismissals, significant reductions on plea agreements and entry into therapeutic/diversion programs where clients avoided the court system all together. Additionally, he was lead counsel on a high-profile murder trial during his time at the Mazzone Law Firm.

Immediately prior to joining the Mazzone Law Firm, Stephen Ritchie was a staff attorney at the Snohomish County Public Defender Association, where he practiced in several areas of criminal defense over the course of 5 years. Most of his time was spent in the Felony Trial Unit, where he handled a diverse array of felony trial cases at all stages of litigation. Stephen was also an attorney in the Sexually Violent Predator Unit, where he defended clients against indefinite civil commitment throughout the entire State of Washington. In his time at the public defender’s office, he also completed year-long rotations in Juvenile Court and District Court, handled RALJ appeals and was responsible for supervising Rule 9 interns.

Before starting at SCPDA, Stephen Ritchie was a law clerk for The Honorable David A. Kurtz at Snohomish County Superior Court.

Prior to relocating to Seattle in 2015, Stephen Ritchie was a litigation associate at a boutique law firm specializing in federal criminal defense in New York City for 3 years. At this position, he gained significant experience defending individuals at all stages of complex federal prosecutions in United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. In addition to trial level federal work, Stephen Ritchie has vast experience representing witnesses who are cooperating with federal agencies as part of federal criminal investigations.

Stephen Ritchie began his legal career at the Legal Aid Society, New York County (Manhattan) Criminal Defense Division. For an entire year, Stephen Ritchie managed his own full time misdemeanor case load as a student practice intern and second-chaired several serious felony trials. Notably, he also interned for a New York State Supreme Court Judge during his second year of law school.