From her childhood dreams through her early courtroom reality, Susan Karpa always had her eyes set on defending the accused. Getting there, however, instead saw her joining the ranks of Crown prosecutors.
Karpa originally took an interest in law because of her father, who worked as an RCMP officer. At just six-years-old, she was more interested in the police than the cartoons like Mickey Mouse ClubHouse that her peers were hooked on.
“I loved crime shows like Law and Order and stuff, even back then.”
After high school, Karpa dove headfirst into criminology at Mount Royal University, later heading to Ottawa to wrap up her degree. Immediately afterward, she snagged a spot at the University of Alberta’s law school.
After graduating from law school in 2002, Karpa articled with Alberta Justice, immersing herself in courtrooms and law books. This helped her truly discover the area of law that interested her the most.
And Karpa knew exactly the direction she was heading.
“I’m a criminal lawyer through and through.”
Though Karpa had planned to enter criminal defence, she ended up working as a prosecutor instead, for more than nine years. That experience proved priceless.
Time at the Crown
Karpa describes her time at the Crown prosecutor’s office as a hands-on legal boot camp. There, she fine-tuned her skills by practicing the law and learning from experienced lawyers. This helped her to go from routine cases to tackling gang work.
While working for the Crown, Karpa climbed the career ladder, leading her to have a good reputation with both her judges and peers.
Maureen McConaghy, a former colleague for both the Crown and in defence, believes her personality has played a huge role in her success.
“She’s outgoing, vivacious, smart, well-spoken, and a good conversationalist, and she’s got a lot of empathy too.”
In 2013, Karpa swapped sides in the legal arena, finally living out her childhood dream by defending instead of prosecuting.
A turn to defence
Karpa briefly worked at a law firm, but found her commitment to client service clashing with the firm’s standards. She quickly found that her commitment to going above and beyond for her clients, even in little things like email etiquette, was not the norm.
Tired of not being able to give clients the services she felt they deserved, Karpa took the solo route and launched her own business.
Years later, with a successful reputation in defence secured, Karpa carefully chooses her clients. She says she is on a mission to give top-notch support while leveling up her skills and taking on tougher cases.
“It’s better that 100 guilty men go free than to convict one innocent man.”
Susan karpa, lawyer
Karpa regularly hears stories about her clients that are difficult to process. Yet, she keeps focused on being professional, preventing her emotions from swaying the dedication she has to her work.
“I’m like the taxi driver. Clients tell me what the case is about, tell me what they need. Just like a fare would tell a taxi driver where they need to go. I get in the car, I drive them, I drop them off, or I finish the case, I’m done. I did my job.”
Having worked now on both sides of the courtroom, Karpa is no stranger to tough cases with dark details and emotional weight, but she stays focused on the light at the end of the legal tunnel.
“There was a case, and it was really difficult and… you do have to hear a lot of things that a lot of people would never want to hear or have the strength to hear. And the kicker for me is, I always say, you just have to soldier on.”
One of the more challenging cases in Karpa’s career had her defending a client in a triple homicide case, who was accused of being a rival gang member. Although two of the victims had connections to the gangs, one was just a man in a noodle shop.
“That really impacts you because there’s three people’s lives now. Even if the other two were gang members, they still have families. They still had lives… Like, it doesn’t, you know, mean anything less.”
Karpa can keep her passion for defence because she knows her work has the power to help keep the innocent out of jail.
“It’s the cases where you genuinely have a solid foundation to establish that the person is not guilty. It’s the fear of thinking that possibly they could be found guilty,” she says.
“It’s better that 100 guilty men go free than to convict one innocent man.”