Meet the OFD Team

Meet the dedicated attorneys and staff of the Office of First Defense. Here, you’ll learn about the professionals who provide around-the-clock, client-centered public defense.

Kristen Jernigan 
Chief Counsel 
Email: kristen.jernigan@traviscountytx.gov 

Kristen Jernigan was born and raised in Austin and graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School, Texas State University, and South Texas College of Law.  Kristen has been an attorney for twenty-seven years and served as an Assistant Attorney General, County Prosecutor, and Staff Attorney at the Fifth Court of Appeals, Fourteenth Court of Appeals, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.  She was an attorney in private practice for ten years and most recently served as a Magistrate Judge.  As a Magistrate Judge, Kristen saw first-hand the importance of having an attorney by your side while going through the Magistration process in which a Magistrate Judge determines bail and terms of release after an arrest.  Kristen lends her experience to Travis County’s innovative and robust Counsel at First Appearance program by leading the Office of First Defense, a team of attorneys which represent those arrested at their Magistration hearing. 

Joey Cantu 
Lead Supervising Attorney 
Email: joey.cantu@traviscountytx.gov 

Joey G. Cantu grew up in Edinburg, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate degrees. He participated in the Actual Innocence and Criminal Defense Clinics at UT Law. Before law school, Joey worked under late criminal defense attorney Bill White.  

In 2011, Joey began practicing law in Colorado as a Deputy State Public Defender. He opened his own practice, Cantu Law, LLC, in Pueblo in 2019. 

Joey moved back to Austin in 2021 and worked as a criminal defense attorney for Dunham & Jones before he was hired by Peek Law Group to manage their Criminal Department. In 2024, Joey worked as a prosecutor with the Travis County Attorney’s Office before accepting the Lead Supervising Attorney position with the Office of First Defense.  

Joey is licensed to practice law in Colorado and Texas and is fluent in Spanish.