NEW CONTACT INFO:
Jennifer M. Kinsley
PO Box 19478
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219
(513) 708-2595
Jennifer Kinsley
Sirkin & Kinsley founding member Jennifer M. Kinsley dedicates her practice to fighting governmental abuse of civil and constitutional rights. She has a passion f
or the underdog and works tirelessly to protect and defend the impoverished, the improperly silenced, and the wrongfully accused.
Ms. Kinsley obtained her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Florida, where she graduated with highest honors and Phi Beta Kappa. She received her law degree from the Duke University School of Law in 1999. While at Duke, Ms. Kinsley headed the Prisoners Rights Project, founded the Criminal Law Society, acted in and directed plays for the Duke Law Drama Society, and volunteered her time in defense of now-exonerated death row inmate Rex Dean Penland.
Ms. Kinsley began her practice as an assistant public defender for the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office, where she primarily handled juvenile delinquency cases. She joined the firm of Sirkin Pinales & Schwartz in April 2000, working under the tutelage of H. Louis Sirkin, and was named a partner in January 2008. In her time at Sirkin Pinales & Schwartz and now at Sirkin & Kinsley, Ms. Kinsley has been successful at invalidating local, state, and federal regulations of adult businesses; has obtained class action relief for Ohio’s incarcerated juveniles and acquittals for numerous criminal defendants; and has worked to develop a protocol for protecting the constitutional rights of the homeless that is currently being adopted by cities across the country. In addition, she recently persuaded the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to vacate the death sentence for Ohio inmate Dewaine Poindexter. She has also been a key member of the Free Speech Coalition’s legal team challenging the record-keeping requirements of 18 U.S.C. 2257.
Ms. Kinsley currently serves as President of the First Amendment Lawyers Association and is an active member of the Greater Cincinnati and Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers Associations, the Ohio Bar Association, and the Cincinnati Bar Association. She lectures frequently on free speech and civil rights issues and is an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati Law School. Ms. Kinsley has also addressed the adult entertainment community at AVN’s Internext conference, at Association of Cabaret Executive meetings, and through online journals and blogs. She was named a 2007 and 2011 Rising Star by Ohio SuperLawyers Magazine and was the 2007 recipient of the Children Law Center’s Advocacy Partnership Award. In addition, Ms. Kinsley recently testified as an expert witness before the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.
In her spare time, Ms. Kinsley is an avid marathon runner, a member of Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church, and a frequent community volunteer. She also volunteers her professional services through the Volunteer Lawyers Program, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, and the Ohio Justice and Policy Center.
Ms. Kinsley is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court; the Supreme Courts of Ohio and Florida; the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits; the United States District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Ohio, the District of Colorado, and the District of Connecticut; and all courts in the States of Ohio and Florida. She has been admitted pro hac vice in over ten states and accepts cases from across the country. Ms. Kinsley further serves as of counsel to two East Coast law firms: the Walters Law Group in metro Orlando, and Silver & Silver LLP in New Britain, Connecticut.