After receiving his education at some of the finest institutions in the world and starting his legal career in one of America’s toughest cities, Kevin Rooney returned home to Stockton to serve the city and the people who raised him. He is committed to using the world-class education and real world experience he’s worked so hard to earn to continue to serve the people of Stockton and California through his law firm, the Law Office of Kevin J. Rooney, P.C.
Kevin graduated from Cornell University Phi Beta Kappa and with distinction in 2004. He also played football for the Big Red and served as a captain his senior year. Kevin received a number of awards along the way, including being named an Academic All-American and a member of the American Football Coaches Association’s Good Works Team for his efforts off the field to serve the Ithaca and Cornell communities.
Kevin also earned a Master’s of Public Administration from Cornell before returning to California and receiving his law degree with distinction from Stanford Law School in 2009. While in law school, Kevin gained experience in the criminal justice system at both the federal and state levels as he worked in both the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office in San Jose.
After graduation, Kevin had the privilege of serving as a law clerk for the Hon. Jeremy Fogel, a federal district court judge in the Northern District of California. Following his clerkship, Kevin worked as an Assistant District Attorney for New York County’s District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan from 2010-2013, where he handled hundreds of misdemeanor and felony cases at every stage of the judicial process, from intake through sentencing.
In 2013, in the wake of record high violence in his hometown of Stockton, Kevin moved back to California and joined the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office as a Deputy District Attorney.
Over the next 8 years, Kevin prosecuted serious and often complex felony matters, including cases related to pattern robberies, special circumstance murders, and multi-defendant gang cases. In 2017, he led a multi-agency wiretap investigation targeting one of Stockton’s most violent gangs, ultimately leading to the successful prosecutions of a 2017 gang shooting, a 2013 homicide, and a drug trafficking operation transporting heroin between Stockton and Reno. After supervising both the Homicide Unit and the Violent Criminal Enterprise Unit (VCEU), Kevin was promoted in March 2021 to one of four Chief Deputy District Attorney positions. As a Chief, Kevin oversaw VCEU as well as the Mainline Felony and Misdemeanor Trial Units.
In 2021, Kevin left the District Attorney’s Office and joined Downey Brand LLP as a litigator. He quickly excelled and was elevated to partner at the end of 2023. At Downey Brand, Kevin also took an active interest in pro bono work, which led to the development of his passion for criminal defense. In 2022, Kevin represented Allan McIntosh in Mr. McIntosh’s successful petition to be resentenced and released after serving over twenty years for gun possession under California’s Three Strikes law. Mr. McIntosh’s case lit a fire under Kevin that eventually led him to open his own criminal defense law firm in 2025.
Outside of the office and the courtroom, Kevin is married and has three children with his wife, Kate. He is very active in the community, as he currently serves on the boards of directors for Stockton Crimestoppers and the Community Partnership for Families, as well as on the Adventist Health Lodi Memorial Community Board. He is also a past board member for the local chapter of the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), has participated in Stanford Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop, and has coached youth basketball since 2013.
Email : kevin@kevinrooneylaw.com