Amy Ronayne Krause

With over 35 years of being a lawyer and 20 of those years being a judge, The Honorable Amy Ronayne Krause (ret.) is at home in both trial and appellate courtrooms. Because of her depth of experience and knowledge of the law, she is available to mediate civil cases, including no fault, medical malpractice and family law cases. She is tenacious and well-prepared. Amy is a skilled trial and appellate advocate, having successfully tried hundreds of criminal jury trials and having won many arguments on appeal.

Amy was a Michigan Court of Appeals Judge for 12 years and a Michigan District Court (Trial) Judge for the City of Lansing for 8 years. Amy received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and her Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School and was in the Michigan Marching Band all 4 years of college.

Amy was appointed an Assistant Attorney General by then Attorney General Frank J. Kelley and was the first recipient of the Frank J. Kelley Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy.

Prior to taking the bench, Amy was elected to serve on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, during which time she chaired the Law and Courts committee. She was an adjunct professor for the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School and has lectured for the Criminal Defense Attorneys Association of Michigan (CDAM). She has also taught for the Michigan Judicial Institute, including teaching other district judges at the New Judges Seminar. Amy has also served as faculty for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, training other judges on a national level.

Amy honorably served as a commissioner on the Judicial Tenure Commission and volunteers to judge mock trial competitions, moot court competitions and to guest lecture for law schools, including the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Amy is a member of the Appellate Practice, Criminal Law, Family Law and Negligence Law sections of the State Bar. She is also a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.

Amy was recognized statewide for her outstanding work in community service with the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. She was also awarded the Distinguished Barrister Award from the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association and the Community Service Award from the Greater Lansing Area Chapter of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. (GLAC-NANBPW) Currently, she serves on the American Red Cross Bio-Tech Sub-Committee for the Mid-Michigan Chapter and as the Vice President of the Williamston Theatre Board of Directors. Amy was appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader to the State Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee and she became chair of the committee.

Amy truly believes in the saying by the famous lawyer, Ellis Rubin---a lawyer who fought for those wrongfully imprisoned, just as the lawyers do here at Chartier & Nyamfukudza: “Being a lawyer is about serving justice. That’s not only our greatest calling, it’s our only calling.”