About Kristen
Kristen Dewar earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Toronto in 2008 and a Juris Doctor from Charlotte School of Law in 2015. She combined classroom study with practical training. Law school placements included the Criminal Justice Clinic and an externship with the Office of the Public Defender in South Carolina’s 6th Judicial District. Those experiences exposed her to client interviews, motion practice and courtroom procedure early in her legal education.
After law school, Dewar moved into clinic and firm work. She served as a legal intern at the Law Office of Norman Butler and at McAlpine PLLC. In 2015 she joined The Law Office of Marc T. Joyner, PLLC as an associate lawyer. That role was her first sustained position in private practice and gave her regular exposure to criminal defense matters in state court. In 2021 she began practicing at Minick Law, P.C., where she is currently listed as a lawyer.
Dewar is licensed to practice in North Carolina. She has formal training in impaired-driving investigation: she completed DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) instruction through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That certification complements her courtroom practice and informs how she prepares DWI cases.
Her professional involvement is extensive and centers on criminal defense organizations. She has been a member of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice since 2014 and has taken on multiple leadership roles in that group. Those roles include section chair and immediate past chair of the Criminal Defense Section, service on the board of governors, co-chair of NCAJ NEXT and co-chair of the Women’s Caucus. She also served on the NCAJ Executive Committee and as Diversity and Inclusion Chair for the Criminal Defense Section. Outside NCAJ, Dewar belongs to the Mecklenburg County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Cabarrus County Bar Association.
In practice Dewar handles a range of criminal matters at the trial level. She represents clients in DWI and other misdemeanor and felony cases. Her work involves preparing motions, conducting hearings and advocating at trial when necessary. She draws on field sobriety testing training when evaluating evidence in impaired-driving cases.
Dewar maintains an active practice at Minick Law, P.C., where she represents clients in criminal matters in North Carolina. She focuses her practice on criminal defense and DWI representation in state courts.
