By Stephanie Pengilley
The Bickel Law Firm
Ryan Stygar, a former firefighter, current author and new member of the California Bar, was inspired by his previous work as a firefighter to enter the law. You ask how? During his tenure as a firefighter, Stygar had the unique opportunity to fight fires alongside people who are incarcerated. Through this, he developed personal relationships with those people and sought to understand how he could further help them. That, combined with his passion for the law, inspired Stygar to get his law degree.
A newly licensed attorney, Stygar earned his law degree from California Western School of Law in April 2020. By the time he was sworn into the bar, he had already published two books related to the legal field. The first is “Understanding Trial Objections,” a book about the most common trial objections an attorney might see at trial, designed to help law students and attorneys alike. To create the book, Stygar spoke with experienced trial attorneys and judges to ascertain the most common objections they see at trial and how to overcome them.
His second legal book “Criminal Justice,” which he released last month, was motivated by the events surrounding George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s deaths. He thought all should know their constitutional rights, including law enforcement. What began as an endeavor to discuss every individual’s constitutional rights became a focused history of the development of the fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments. Stygar drew from his internship experiences at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. He also read over 130 cases in developing this book, which includes include easy-to-read case summaries.
“I wanted to create something that educates people and makes them feel empowered to participate,” Stygar said.
He says that the most surprising thing he learned from writing the book is that “justice isn’t a given.”
“Even though the Constitution guarantees certain rights, that doesn’t mean police, judges, and prosecutors will always follow those rules,” he said. “This is a challenge and an opportunity for the legal community. It’s a challenge because as lawyers we have to stand up for these rights every day — we can’t assume they will always work without effort from us. And this is an opportunity because we truly are a country built on beautiful ideas; we just have to commit ourselves to living up to those ideas, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Stygar has additionally been published in The Jurist and has authored five non-legal related books. He released his debut fiction novel, “The Emperor of Vegas,” about a murder gone wrong, just before starting law school. Then during law school, he published three children’s books as part of the “Snot Rocket” series, which takes kids on adventures while teaching science and math. Stygar plans to publish three more books in the series.
Eager and ready to start practicing law, Stygar is in the process of opening his own law firm Centurion Trial Attorneys, which will focus on criminal defense and employment law. He also plans to continue producing affordable legal practice guides to help the legal community.
From firefighter to attorney, Stygar feels honored to be able to give back to his community. “As an attorney I have this privilege to stand up for the people,” he says.
You can learn more about Stygar and his books at www.ryanstygar.com.