Mr. Kinsky went to Marine Corps boot camp the day after he got his high school diploma. He graduated from Colgate University magna cum laude in 1983 and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He received his law degree from Duke University with high distinction in 1986. After a year working in the corporate division of a large St. Louis law firm, he became an assistant public defender in St. Louis City in 1987. In 1990, he was promoted to district defender for six counties in southeast Missouri, where he has lived ever since. As a public defender, he represented poor people accused of crimes ranging from misdemeanors to murders. In 1992, he went into private practice of the law. He continued to represent people accused of crimes and added experience helping people in domestic cases (divorce, child custody, and support), in personal injury cases (negligence and intentional torts), and in probate, contract and business disputes.