Meet Audrey Cromwell

Through her legal vocation, Audrey has served her fellow Montanans as a Judge pro tem, prosecutor, public defender, legal aid attorney, criminal defense attorney and now Gallatin County Attorney. As Gallatin County Attorney, her depth and breadth of service in criminal law brings a sharp perspective tempered by a passion for collaboration. For more information on her policies, click here.

Committed to Public Good

Raised in Billings, Audrey is the daughter of service-minded parents who worked in the medical field. She attended both parochial and public school, riding her bike with neighborhood friends after class and spending time with her family, including both grandmothers. In high school, she immersed herself in an award-winning choir, participated in Girls State, and became a fearless competitor in track and field. In addition to volunteering at a warming center for the unhoused with her siblings during her teenage years, Audrey worked in the Alzheimer’s unit at a local nursing home, caring for vulnerable residents.

Community-Minded Justice

Audrey received her degree from Carleton College in Minnesota, majoring in American Studies, focusing on criminal justice within Montana’s reservations. Each summer she returned home to work in the service industry at Billings and Cooke City restaurants, hiking and fishing in the nearby Beartooths on her off-hours.

Upon her acceptance to law school at the University of Montana, Audrey discovered her passion for community-minded justice. It was during this time that she met her husband, Charlie—a fellow law student and U.S. Army veteran who grew up harvesting wheat on his cousins’ farm in the golden triangle. During law school, Audrey worked as a prosecutor, filing charges, prosecuting crimes, trying cases in front of juries, and counseling victims. Her interest in effective prosecution led her to pursue criminal justice issues in Washington D.C., working for Senator Max Baucus and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

Audrey's husband Charlie is a combat veteran and currently serves in the Army Reserve. Use of photographs of him in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.

 

Innovative Leadership

After her clerkship ended in D.C., Audrey returned home to serve the public as a public defender, representing Montanans charged with crimes who could not afford lawyers. It was then that she experienced the cyclical patterns found in many crimes and began to identify the powerful tools of drug court, mental health programs, and re-entry support that went beyond incarceration to break destructive cycles within offenders’ lives.

Fourteen years ago, Audrey deepened her commitment to Gallatin by starting her own law firm, growing her business to include 5 attorneys with cases in criminal defense, divorce, child custody, child abuse and neglect, business law, and immigration. Her skill in leading teams in innovative ways led to Cromwell Law named by the community as Gallatin’s Greatest law firm in 2021.

Prior to being elected Gallatin County Attorney, Audrey served the community as a Judge, pro tem, in both Justice Court and Municipal Court. As an attorney, Audrey has cultivated good working relationships with the County’s public officials, nonprofits, businesses, Montana State University, and the public. 

While in private practice, she was voted Gallatin Greatest attorney 2021.

As County Attorney, Audrey will carry out her duties with the utmost integrity to hold offenders accountable, support victims, and ensure public safety. Her criminal justice policies, not only prioritize Gallatin’s public safety, but galvanize a modern vision of the County Attorney’s Office as the gold standard in crime prevention and rehabilitation. For more information on her policies, click here. 

Community Awards:

Work Experience:

  • Founder & Managing Partner, Cromwell Law, PLLC

  • Judge Pro Tem, Gallatin County Justice Court & Bozeman Municipal Court

  • Co-Director of Student Legal Aid Program (ASMSU Legal Services)

    • Best Montana State University ASMSU Program 2018

    • Best Montana State University ASMSU Program 2017

  • Public Defender and Criminal Defense Attorney

  • Law Clerk to Senator Max Baucus and U.S. Senate Finance Committee

  • Prosecutor (Missoula County)

  • Co-Editor-in-Chief of Montana Law Review

Courtroom Experience:

  • 15 years of Criminal Law Experience

    • County Attorney and Prosecutor, Criminal Defense Attorney, Civil Attorney, Legal Aid Attorney, Judge Pro Tem

  • 11 Jury Trials; 22 Bench Trials

  • Hundreds of hours of Hearings and Appearances

  • Served over 1000 Clients

  • Helped to form Drug Treatment Court (Yellowstone County)

  • 7 years Judge Pro Tem

  • Appeared and Practiced in 21 Judicial Districts and Jurisdictions Across Montana

Policy & Management Experience

  • U.S. Senate Law Clerk - worked on 5th Amendment Search & Seizure Criminal Justice Reform and Crack vs. Cocaine Sentencing Disparities in Federal Judiciary.

  • Founded and led a successful mid-size law firm.

  • Extensive Experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution and as a skilled Mediator.

  • Experience grant writing for nonprofits.

  • Helped push for passage of bipartisan Uniform Collaborative Law Act.

  • Experience advising and assisting Military Servicemembers as part of the Military Spouse J.D. Network and ABA Military Pro Bono Project.