Erin K. Conner

Founder – The Conner Law Firm LLC

Former Chief of the Criminal Bureau, St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office

Erin K. Conner spent eight years at the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office charging cases, trying them to verdict, and ultimately serving as both Supervisor of the Violent Crimes Unit and Chief of the Criminal Bureau. She prosecuted all types of violent crime cases, including: first degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated DUI, criminal sexual assault, and armed robbery. When she now files motions on behalf of a client, the prosecutor across the aisle should be aware that they are dealing with someone who has personally argued the other side of them dozens of times.

That experience is not a credential line. It is the foundation of how every case at The Conner Law Firm is approached. When Ms. Conner advises a client that a plea offer is the best the State will do or that the State is overreaching that assessment is grounded in the years she spent setting those offers herself.

A Prosecutor Who Learned the System From the Inside

Ms. Conner joined the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office in September 2014 as a line Assistant State’s Attorney. Over the course of eight years, she rose to Supervisor of the Violent Crimes Unit and then to Chief of the Criminal Bureau. She tried dozens of cases to verdict and oversaw prosecutions of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, second degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, criminal sexual assault, aggravated DUI, and domestic battery, among others.

As Chief of the Criminal Bureau, part of her responsibilities were to defend the finality of cases for the State. She was responsible for briefing and arguing post-conviction petitions, petitions for relief from judgment, and other collateral matters. She also served as an instructor with the Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission training the same officers whose reports and investigative procedures she now scrutinizes on behalf of clients.

She appeared before the same judges, worked with the same detectives, and trained or mentored the same prosecutors she now appears across from every week. That institutional knowledge of how cases are charged, how offers are structured, and where the State’s case is strongest and most fragile informs every motion filed, every hearing argued, and every negotiation conducted at The Conner Law Firm.

Defense Experience: Both Sides of the Aisle

Ms. Conner began her legal career as a St. Clair County Assistant Public Defender, where she tried numerous felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile cases to verdict securing not guilty verdicts across all three divisions. Those cases included predatory criminal sexual assault, aggravated battery, criminal sexual assault, residential burglary, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, aggravated domestic battery, attempted robbery, driving under the influence, and a range of other felony and misdemeanor charges.

Before founding The Conner Law Firm, she spent three years as criminal defense counsel at another criminal defense firm in Belleville. Across her career she has handled more than fifty trials and a substantial volume of evidentiary and pretrial hearings DUIs, domestic battery cases, drug felonies, sex offenses, weapons charges, juvenile transfer hearings, post-conviction petitions, and criminal appeals. She represents clients in St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Perry, Washington, Madison, and Bond Counties, with regular appearances in the surrounding circuits.

Personal Representation on Every Matter

At The Conner Law Firm, Ms. Conner personally handles every matter from the first consultation through the final order. She does not delegate cases to associates or contract attorneys. Every motion, every hearing, every plea negotiation, every cross-examination is her work. Clients retain Ms. Conner and receive Ms. Conner not a less-experienced attorney handling the file after the initial meeting.

Local Knowledge That Makes a Difference

Ms. Conner is a lifelong resident of the metro-east. She knows the judges in St. Clair County by reputation and by direct experience in their courtrooms. She knows which prosecutors will move on a fair offer and which will need to be pushed to trial. She knows which diversionary programs are genuinely available to clients and which the state will never agree to based upon what the charges are against you. That local knowledge does not appear on a résumé, but it informs the disposition of every case she handles.

Education & Trial Training

Ms. Conner earned her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2011, with a concentration in Criminal Litigation and a certificate in International and Comparative Law. She received the Academic Excellence Award in Criminal Law and competed on the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team, placing as an 8th-place and 3rd-place oralist in back-to-back years.

Her undergraduate training at McKendree University preceded law school and is directly relevant to how she practices. As a member of the Pi Kappa Delta speech and debate team, she became a four-time national champion in impromptu speaking, international public debate, and the all-around competition and reached the national finals seven times. She graduated summa cum laude in 2008 with degrees in Biology and Political Science.

Her Biology background is part of why she is effective at cross-examining the State’s expert witnesses. Toxicologists, forensic analysts, and accident reconstructionist do not receive a free pass in her cases she understands the methodology behind their conclusions, not just their testimony, and she knows where that methodology is most vulnerable to challenge.

From 2015 to 2019, Ms. Conner taught American Politics at McKendree University, focusing on the intersection of 20th and 21st century American history and the development of constitutional law.

Recognition & Professional Memberships

• National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Criminal Defense (2023)
• National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys Top 10 Under 40 (2023)
• Marquis Who’s Who Expertise in Legal Services (2026)
• Treasurer, St. Clair County Bar Association
• Treasurer, East St. Louis Bar Association
• Member, Illinois State Bar Association
• Member, Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Member, Belleville Human Relations Commission
• Member, Walnut Hill Cemetery Board

From Belleville, for Belleville

Erin grew up in Belleville and still lives there. Outside the office, she is a cat mom to Sophia and Alexei, an avid traveler, an unapologetic karaoke enthusiast, and a St. Louis Blues fan.

Schedule a Consultation

If you or a loved one are facing criminal charges in southern Illinois, or who believe charges may be coming, call (618) 277-2421 or email erin@theconnerlawfirm.com to schedule a confidential consultation. Timing matters and delays are consequential.