Susan D. Rayl

A native of Kokomo, Indiana, Attorney Susan D. Rayl is a highly experienced criminal defense attorney. In her practice of more than 25 years, she has represented hundreds of clients in various stages of the criminal proceeding, from pre-trial investigation up to and including appeal, working with the most complex and difficult criminal cases.

Susan had extensive administrative experience outside of the law before embarking on her legal career, giving her a broad perspective on people-oriented issues beyond the law. She worked in the healthcare field as a radiation therapist at the Indiana University Medical Center for ten years, beginning in 1980. In 1989, she joined the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis to assist in starting up a new radiation therapy department, where she served as supervisor of radiation therapy until 1993.

Also beginning in 1989, Susan attended law school while working full-time. In 1993, Ms. Rayl began working for Mr. Richard Kammen, a nationally recognized criminal defense attorney, as a law clerk at what was then known as McClure, McClure, and Kammen. When she was admitted to the bar in 1994, she began working as an associate attorney at the same firm, where she practiced criminal defense law until 2000. While at McClure, McClure, and Kammen, Susan developed a high degree of skill in criminal trial work, representing clients in numerous jury trials, as well as hundreds of other cases that were resolved before trial.

Ms. Rayl opened her own solo law practice in Indianapolis in 2000, focusing on criminal appeals, and later became a partner in the law firm Smith Rayl Law Office, LLC. All told, Susan has more than twenty-five years of experience in criminal defense. She has conducted numerous bench and jury trials and completed more than 130 appeals in the Indiana Court of Appeals and Indiana Supreme Court, including major felony appeals, sentence modification appeals, post-conviction relief appeals, interlocutory appeals, and others. Now a partner with Harshman Ponist, she handles criminal trials and appeals, post-conviction relief proceedings, sentence modifications, expungements, and probate violations.