About the practice
Built from lived experience—and the belief that people are more than the worst thing they have done.
Creating Belief combines human-services knowledge, business experience, careful investigation, and practical reentry planning in service of a fuller human picture.
What Creating Belief is
A focused mitigation and reentry planning service.
Creating Belief works alongside defense attorneys, individuals, and families to build the full human picture behind a case—and a realistic plan for what comes next.
The work is grounded in accountability, dignity, rehabilitation, and practical planning. Creating Belief is not a law firm or clinical practice, does not make promises about outcomes, and approaches every accepted case carefully and honestly.
The team
Two perspectives. One shared purpose.
Human story, community resources, and a practical path forward are considered together.
Owner
01 / 02
David Patterson
Owner · Community outreach & reentry
David leads community outreach, resource development, and reentry planning. Drawing from lived experience with incarceration, recovery, and rebuilding, he develops relationships with community organizations and identifies resources that support successful reentry.
His work focuses on expanding Creating Belief's network of services and helping build realistic pathways toward long-term stability.
ASHS
02 / 02
Laura Catevenis, ASHS
Lead Mitigation & Reentry Specialist
Laura specializes in forensic mitigation, life-history interviewing, record review, and mitigation report writing. She reviews records, conducts interviews, and identifies themes, strengths, and mitigating factors that provide context to a person's life experiences.
She develops comprehensive mitigation reports and individualized reentry plans that help defense counsel present a more complete understanding of the person before the court.
Professional memberships
Connected to the broader defense community.
- 01
National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA)
- 02
National Alliance of Indigent Defense Educators (NAIDE)
- 03
NLADA Mitigation & Sentencing Advocacy Section (NASAMS)
Start a conversation
A clearer case begins with a fuller picture.
Discuss the case, timeline, scope, and current availability with Creating Belief.