Linsey Ruhl

Linsey Ruhl serves as the Director of the General Practice Clinic and co-teaches Lawyering Skills for Clinical Practice at Maine Law. She joined the faculty in July 2024.

Professor Ruhl is a seasoned litigator with extensive experience representing clients in criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings. Before joining Maine Law, she was a staff attorney at Pine Tree Legal Assistance, where she handled a wide range of civil cases, including divorce, parental rights and responsibilities, adoption, de facto parentage, protection from abuse, and eviction defense. She also held leadership roles as the president of the attorney union and chair of the Litigation Practice Group.

In 2022, the Maine Law Court appointed Professor Ruhl to the Family Law Advisory Commission (FLAC), established by the legislature to conduct ongoing studies of Maine’s family laws. During her tenure, she drafted reports advising the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary on issues such as grandparents’ visitation rights, appointment of counsel in child protective matters, amendments to the Home Court Act, preliminary injunctions, and funding for essential services for crime victims. She also contributed to drafting legislation, testified before the legislature, and participated in working group sessions, serving on FLAC until June 2024.

Before returning to Maine in 2019, Professor Ruhl worked as a public defender with the Colorado State Public Defender, the Bronx Defenders, and the Bronx office of the Legal Aid Society. In these roles, she provided comprehensive representation to adults and juveniles facing misdemeanor and felony charges, and litigated complex suppression motions involving DNA, human remains detection dogs, crime scene investigation, serology, and ballistics.