Nicole Kruegel on Truth, Trial Work, and Speaking Up When Your Voice Shakes

Women are still significantly underrepresented as first-chair trial attorneys. However, Nicole Kruegel is changing that equation through preparation, skill, and results. As a Partner at the nationally recognized firm Rafferty, Domnick, Cunningham & Yaffa (RDCY), Kruegel has built her reputation not on tokenism, but on an unwavering commitment to courtroom excellence and an impressive track record of results that speak for themselves.

In our interview, Kruegel pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to win at trial. She talks about handling gender bias without making it the story, turning complex medical testimony into narratives that juries actually understand, and why kindness might be her most effective courtroom strategy. Not to mention, she’s also mentoring the next generation of attorneys.

Kruegel’s story reveals both the tactical brilliance of a skilled litigator and the deeper purpose that drives someone to stand up in courtrooms across the country, giving voice to those who have been silenced and demanding accountability from the powerful.

Check out our interview with Nicole Kruegel below.

Nicole Kruegel, Partner & Trial Lawyer at RDCY

What initially drew you to trial law, and how did you know this was the right path for you at RDCY?

Nicole Kruegel: I’ve wanted to be a trial lawyer for as long as I can remember. I started competing in mock trials in fifth grade and was hooked from the beginning. What drew me in (and still does) is the ability to tell a client’s story when they’ve been deeply wronged and to hold those responsible accountable.

There’s a unique kind of purpose that comes from standing up in a courtroom, giving a voice to someone who’s been silenced, and watching truth and justice intersect. When you do this work the right way, you’re not just arguing; you’re giving someone their voice back. That’s what I get to do at RDCY every day.

Can you walk us through a pivotal moment in your career that helped establish you as a first-chair trial lawyer?

Nicole Kruegel: It happened during a stroke misdiagnosis trial. I got two of the defense’s experts to change their opinions on the stand — and not because I trapped them, but because I stripped the medicine and facts down to their simplest truths. I just asked short, undeniable questions that made them realize they were wrong.

After trial, people told me they’d never seen anyone flip two opposing experts in one case. I didn’t plan it that way — I just stayed laser-focused on what was true, and it worked.

What does it mean to you to be recognized for your legal excellence rather than your gender, and how has that shaped your approach to building your reputation?

Nicole Kruegel: The only people who ever seem to focus on my gender in this profession are the ones who underestimate me. I learned a long time ago that their assumptions say nothing about me, but everything about them. I don’t waste energy trying to prove my worth to those people. My energy goes toward my clients and the work.

And when those same people eventually realize they’ve underestimated me, the lesson tends to be memorable. My reputation is built on results, not assumptions.

You mentor younger attorneys. What qualities do you look for when identifying future trial lawyers, and how do you nurture those skills?

Nicole Kruegel: I am always inspired by young attorneys who have the bravery and ambition to ask for guidance, who can see that every case is an opportunity to tell a story that is much bigger than one client or one act of negligence, and who are looking for a way to make the world a safer, more just, place.

I look for attorneys who want to think outside of the box and try new strategies and new theories of how the law should be, and who are not afraid to fail. It’s called the ‘practice’ of law for a reason. None of us started our careers as fully formed attorneys. We practiced, we failed (sometimes a lot), but we kept trying to do better. To be better.

I see my role as an incredible opportunity to speak the truth and to hold powerful people and companies accountable for harm that they have caused, and to (hopefully) force them to change in a way that prevents others from suffering like my clients have. That is not the type of change that most Defendants want to engage in on their own accord. No one wants to be told that they have caused or done terrible harm, but the only way to change is to accept these truths. And you cannot accept a truth if no one ever tells it to you. I look for attorneys who are not afraid to speak truth to powerful people, even when it is hard.

How do you balance being a demanding mentor with being supportive, especially when preparing associates for their first major trials?

Nicole Kruegel: Trial work is demanding. There’s no way around that. Preparing for trial starts the moment a client calls you. You have to understand the story from the very beginning — every document, every witness, every detail — because it all fits together in the end. Most new lawyers don’t really understand the “why” behind all the small things until they’ve been through a trial start to finish. Then the lightbulb goes off.

I am demanding, but I don’t expect perfection. I expect engagement, ownership, and growth. Mistakes will happen, sometimes big ones. My job is to help them understand that most mistakes can be fixed, and to show them how. Being supportive doesn’t mean lowering the bar; it means standing beside them as they rise to meet it.

What advice do you give to young women lawyers who aspire to become first-chair trial attorneys in what’s still a male-dominated field?

Nicole Kruegel: An expert once told me, “Don’t be scared. Be scary.” And it has kept me going through a lot of moments where someone tried to treat being a woman as some sort of disadvantage. Never be afraid to take up space. Never be afraid to speak the truth – especially to older men who may underestimate you. They are going to make a lot of dumb assumptions about who you are and what you can do – let them. And then show them why that was a mistake.

There have been many moments in my career where my partners and I have made a strategic decision to use my gender as a weapon. Recently, we had to decide which one of us would testify at a hearing to get sanctions against the defense for intentionally hiding documents we were entitled to. The attorney on the other side who was covering the hearing had never met me before and it was clear from the beginning that he had made some very incorrect assumptions about me.

So, we decided that I would be the one to testify. The attorney’s attempted cross-examination of me is a career highlight. He tried, again and again, to out-lawyer me and was repeatedly smacked down. One of my male law partners was sitting in the back of the courtroom watching, and he had the biggest grin on his face the entire time because it took this attorney 15 minutes to realize that, no matter what he tried to do to me on cross, I was going to be smarter and more prepared every time.

Sometimes, the most effective way to challenge bias is to quietly demolish it in real time.

How do you define leadership in the legal profession, and what does “earning respect” mean to you in practical terms?

Nicole Kruegel: Leadership is showing up and doing the work, not making it about yourself. It’s about being someone others can rely on for guidance, honesty, and help. To me, earning respect means doing the work, treating everyone with decency, and using your experience to lift others up. I don’t see other plaintiff lawyers as competition. We’re all fighting for the same thing: justice for our clients. Refusing to share knowledge because it might give someone else an advantage isn’t leadership, it’s insecurity.

You earn respect by being consistent, competent, and kind. And by staying grounded enough to remember that this job is supposed to be about people, not ego.

What drives your entrepreneurial spirit in law, and how do you continue to innovate in your practice while maintaining traditional courtroom excellence?

Nicole Kruegel: Trial work lives at the intersection of art and science. The courtroom is rooted in tradition, but storytelling, technology, and juror psychology are always evolving. I’m driven by the constant challenge of making complex medicine, data, and human emotion come alive for a jury. I’m always looking for better ways to make jurors feel what my client went through, not just understand it intellectually.

The law and how we interact with and understand it has been evolving for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Lawyers have been working to perfect a system of justice the entire time, but we aren’t there yet. You cannot simply throw an entire system (and its traditions) out because it’s not perfect. Recognizing the ways that the legal system does not work for the people who rely on it helps me see ways that I can do my part to make it better. And knowing that there are things I can do to make the system better for everyone is what keeps me coming back each and every day.

Looking ahead, what legacy do you hope to build at RDCY, and how do you want to be remembered by the attorneys you’ve mentored and the clients you’ve served?

Nicole Kruegel: I want to be remembered as someone who fought relentlessly for her clients and told their stories with honesty and compassion. I want my clients to know that they mattered and that their pain led to real change.

For the attorneys I’ve mentored, I hope they remember that I believed in them, pushed them when it counted, and expected them to rise — not because I was hard on them, but because I knew they could do more than they thought possible. I want them to keep that same energy: to be brave, to speak truth, and to never stop demanding better from this profession. My legacy, I hope, is one of courage and truth.

Lastly, is there a specific mantra, quote, or affirmation that you hold close to your heart?

Nicole Kruegel: “Tell the truth, even when your voice shakes.”

It’s not about being fearless. It’s about doing what’s right despite the fear. That’s the job. That’s the whole point. Every meaningful change, in or out of the courtroom, starts with someone willing to tell the truth when it’s uncomfortable.