Natalie Durflinger - Tacoma, WA

Natalie Durflinger was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. After graduating from the University of Washington with honors, she attended Gonzaga University School of Law where she was awarded a prestigious Thomas More Scholarship in recognition of both her academic achievements and her dedication to public service. While attending law school, Natalie worked as a volunteer intern at the Spokane Public Defender’s Office, focusing on protecting the rights of juveniles accused of crimes.

Natalie has always been passionate about protecting constitutional rights. While in law school, she founded the American Civil Liberties Union – WA Gonzaga School of Law Chapter. As the group’s president, she was responsible for planning and hosting speaking engagements, debates and presentations, in order to educate the community on current constitutional issues.

After graduating with honors from Gonzaga University School of Law, Natalie relocated to Western Washington where she has spent more than a decade representing persons accused of crimes ranging from simple misdemeanors to serious felonies. During this time, Natalie has been a passionate advocate for her clients and has been awarded the Washington State Bar’s Pro Bono award numerous times for her work on behalf of those who could not afford to pay for legal representation. Natalie is consistently given five-star ratings by her clients who describe her as “…honest, ethical, compassionate, knowledgeable, supportive, connected, and encouraging.” Another former client stated that “[w]ith her persistence and drive she made miracles happen.” In another review, a relieved client described his representation by Natalie Durflinger. “In the end, we got that "home run" and months of fear turned to a big sigh of relief.”

“I could tell she truly cared about me and my family, and I cannot thank her enough.” The reason Natalie gets such great reviews from her clients is because she truly cares about them and the outcome of their cases. She uses her extensive knowledge of criminal law and criminal procedure in addition to her excellent reputation in the legal community to get each of her clients the best possible result.

In addition to her work on behalf of thousands of clients, Natalie has also continued in her passion to educate others. Natalie taught in the criminal justice program at Palau Community College and taught at Pierce College, educating criminal justice students in Constitutional Rights, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence Law, Victimology and Advocacy, Criminal Justice, Policing in America and Corrections in America. Natalie uses her platform as an educator to bring awareness to important issues such as mass incarceration, racial disparity in sentencing, persistent violations of constitutional rights, and alternatives to incarcerations through specialized court programs and restorative justice.

Natalie is grateful for all of the opportunities that life has given her, and she is constantly looking for ways to continue to help others both in the criminal justice system and in the classroom. While Natalie considers herself to be a zealous advocate for her clients in the courtroom, she also hopes that her dedication to educating today’s criminal justice students will help lay the foundation for improving our criminal justice system in the future.