Meet the Defense Bar: Daniel Ginnetty
Posted by [email protected] on May. 15, 2026 / Subscribe 0
We’re proud to spotlight Daniel Ginnetty, an attorney whose path into criminal defense was shaped by a profound early experience—and whose practice today reflects a deep commitment to the humanity of every client he represents.
Daniel traces his calling back to his 1L summer, working in Cambodia with International Bridges to Justice. “It was the first time I ever visited human beings in cages,” he recalls. “I felt like if by some miracle I made it through law school, I would work for the side trying to get people out of cages.” That moment not only inspired purpose, it defined a career.
For Daniel, the most rewarding part of the job is telling the full, complicated story of his clients’ lives. “I love investing myself in a client’s whole life,” he explains. “The state loves telling a sanitized, neat story about who deserves to be in a cage and who doesn't. I get to tell the messy one. That's the more honest story.”
Recently, he helped defend a complex murder case in Tangipahoa Parish. During voir dire, he selected a young juror based on her responses rather than eliminating her due to the nature of the case. She became the foreperson. The jury looked beyond a sensational headline to consider the full, complicated story and acquitted his client. “You have to judge jurors by what they say, not how they look,” he notes. It’s a reminder that instincts in this work must be informed by careful listening—whether to clients or jurors.
His advice to newer lawyers: “There is always an angle in every case, even the ones that feel hopeless. It’s not always, or even often, a path to not guilty; but there’s always an achievable outcome that is better than what the State would like to do to your client if they didn’t have to deal with you.”
Daniel credits his wife, attorney Jane Hogan, as his greatest mentor, particularly for teaching him the importance of truly listening to clients. Outside of work, he’s raising two daughters, running, and keeping a stack of half-finished books nearby.
His final advice to our LACDL community is simple: “Always make time for jail visits. It keeps us grounded.”
Learn more about Daniel at HoganAttorneys.com. Want to be our next Member Spotlight? Submit your info here.
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