Defense attorney Kyle Craig pictured at Charlie’s, in downtown Minot.

Defense attorney Kyle Craig has a set routine when he is about to try a case.

“After I pick a jury, I’ll come in (to Charlie’s, his wife’s restaurant in downtown Minot) and order a hot beef sandwich,” said Craig.

Then, while the jury is deliberating, Craig walks from the courthouse to Charlie’s and orders a strawberry shake.

Charlie’s is more than a restaurant for the Craigs – it is where they first met, when Craig was a customer. They have been together for three years and married for about one.

Craig’s biggest supporter is his wife, Tiffany Craig, owner of Charlie’s, who is proud that her 30-year-old husband has had a lot of wins lately and has just made partner at his firm, Ackre & Craig.

Last week, Craig continued to present a case to the jury after his client failed to show up for the second day of trial. The jury took 45 minutes to acquit the man of charges of robbery and fleeing from police. They convicted him on misdemeanor drug charges, but Craig said that will likely result in a deferred imposition of sentence.

Craig graduated from Linton High School where his father, a Methodist pastor, had taken a job when Craig was a senior in high school. But he attended school through the eleventh grade at Des Lacs-Burlington High School and later went on to earn a bachelor of arts degree in English from Minot State University. He then attended the University of North Dakota Law School at the urging of one of his undergraduate professors. He took a summer job following his first year of law school for Robert Ackre at the Ackre Law Firm in Cando.

Law students further on in their education are able to get papers to do some legal work with supervision. Craig recalls that, when he had reached that point in his education, Ackre had him try a two-day custody trial.

“He just threw me in right away,” said Craig, who said he benefited from this hands-on, direct experience in the courtroom and Ackre’s mentoring.

About four to five years ago, Ackre decided to open a branch in Minot, having noticed that there were a lot of opportunities for lawyers here and there was a lot of activity in the North Central District Court. Craig had always planned to stay in North Dakota to practice and was glad to return to the area where he grew up.

Craig said his mentor has encouraged him to take on a public defender contract, which has been good experience. Ackre is the chief prosecutor for the Fort Berthold District Court in New Town and also handles private cases, such as personal injury cases.

Many of Craig’s clients have come from difficult backgrounds and Craig and his wife have tried to help them when they can.

Craig said he and his wife have occasionally offered his former clients work at the restaurant or an efficiency apartment to help them get back on their feet.

He said his wife has also sometimes referred people she meets at the restaurant to him as potential clients.

The Ackre and Craig Law Firm, located at 1809 South Broadway in Minot, has grown over the past few years. A few years ago, Craig filed most of his paperwork himself. Now he has a dedicated paralegal and a clerk.

He looks forward to the years ahead.