Dennis Charles Cronin

"The practice of law is a profession in which lawyers serve justice, it is not a business to pave a road of financial excess." -DC Cronin

Dennis “DC” Cronin was hired in 1987 out of Spokane Legal Services by his mentor and friend, L. Carl Maxey, from whom he received the moniker “DC”.  Dennis' passion for equal justice is demonstrated by his comprehensive study of the law and his determination to have the law applied fairly to all.

In 2003, Dennis founded The Law Office of D.C. Cronin based upon values of hard work, perseverance, and persistence on behalf of those who struggle to access justice, providing his clients with rigorous representation regardless of their ability to pay. His persistence for equal justice has led to both published and unpublished opinions spanning a broad spectrum of the law; from the Federal District and Ninth Circuit regarding civil and voting rights, ethics and professional responsibility, labor unions and duty of fair representation, to the Washington State Supreme Court  regarding election campaigns and politics, to the Washington State Court of Appeals in the areas of criminal, domestic relations, employment and labor, litigation and juvenile and parental rights.

His earliest assignments as General Counsel of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Outreach Center, the Spokane Chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., as a member of the Washington State Bar Association Sentencing and Corrections Committee and Spokane ACLU Board were early indications of Dennis's passion and commitment for community and professional service.

Among many other roles throughout the past 32 years, Dennis previously served as Chair of the City of Spokane Human Rights Commission. To this day, Dennis carries on the tradition of giving back to the community and currently serves as Chair of the City of Spokane Ethics Commission, as a member of the Executive Boards of the WSBA LGBT Section, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, TeamChild, and Northwest Mediation Center, for the past ten years, has served as Chair of the SCBA Family Law Section and is a founding member and Trustee of the newly formed SCBA LGBTA Law Section.

For over 30 years, DC has worked tirelessly in the pursuit of justice for his clients and has  co-counseled cases with L. Carl Maxey, F. Lee Bailey, Ralph Nader’s Organization; NAACP Defense and Educational Fund Inc., & Andrew Shapiro of Yale Law School.  DC earned and has maintained an AV Rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible peer review ratings in both legal ability and ethical standards, and reflecting the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary, cannot be purchased or otherwise influenced.

DC’s present practice emphasis is felony criminal defense, complex domestic relations, appellate, administrative, juvenile law, mediation, consultation with and writing for other attorneys, and pro bono representation.

Whether family law, appellate, felony criminal, juvenile, administrative matters, or civil rights, many clients often seek his services for a complex and intersecting set of factors inclusive of power imbalances and many times aggravated by economic disparity and financially superior opponents, such as family law matters combined with CPS and/or criminal investigations, discovery issues, mental health, drugs and/or alcohol,  intimate partner violence, criminal matters involving alleged sex crimes, including the Internet, college students facing felony criminal charges and related administrative investigations, parents facing CPS investigations and interventions, parental rights, and children’s rights.

DC represents clients across a diverse and multi-dimensional spectrum. The vast majority of his clients present with complex legal issues, and many have limited or non-existent funding for legal services, language and literacy limitations. His clients typically seek his services due to issues specifically related to their inability to access the justice system, based upon socio-economic, educational, language, heritage and ethnicity, religious affiliation, racial, gender, age, sexual orientation, mental illness, disabilities, and other barriers which have, in some way, affected the individual’s access to competent representation of, and access to, the court for their specific issues.

DC also provides mediation services for family law matters in which a variety of considerations must be provided, including economic status.  He is pleased to provide mediation services upon the request of the court for Self-Represented Litigants who have been otherwise unable to access services, or for whom the mediation process has previously failed, as well as where otherwise requested.

With credit due his grandparents, Irish-Canadian and Italian immigrants to America, just two generations later DC lives the values of hard work and perseverance. Raised in a working class neighborhood in Connecticut, his first generation parents, David and Antoinette, instilled the promises and responsibilities of the dream their parents and grandparents crossed the oceans to realize. DC’s older brother is a renowned transplant surgeon; his younger sister is a registered nurse. DC chose the law, or the law chose him, as some folks have been heard to say.

Still true to his working class roots, as well as his commitment to access to justice, DC has not raised his family law rates in over 20 years and still charges the $ per hour, on the tenth of the hour, set by Carl Maxey while DC was employed at the Maxey Law Offices. Rates for support staff are $85.00 per hour on the tenth of the hour. Criminal hourly rates may vary.

Free Initial Consultation

The initial consultation provides a confidential opportunity for you and for DC to determine whether or not the relationship might be a “good fit”. The confidentiality continues regardless of whether or not you choose to hire our office or if the request for representation is declined. DC does not respond to persons seeking information regarding confidential communications, and/or reviews, even regarding matters which are declined for representation.

We understand the tendency to seek immediate responses through the use of email. However, all matters must be screened for potential conflicts. In addition, email cannot be guaranteed to be a confidential method of communication, therefore may not be a secure and safe form of communication,  and may contain viruses and/or malware. For these and other reasons, The Law Office of D.C. Cronin does not accept email inquiries.

If you are interested in scheduling an initial, free, confidential and no-obligation consultation, please call our office during business hours at. 

DC’s staff will be happy to take some brief information from you to determine if your matter is something with which DC may be able to help in the time frame needed. Absent a rare exception, discussed and resolved prior to the consultation, no persons other than the individual, are allowed in the consultation in order to preserve confidentiality and avoid potential conflicts of interest.