 Kriaučiūnas was disliked by Tsarist officials and local landowners and was dismissed from his court job in 1899 and returned to Marijampolė where he started a private attorney practice.During this time, he devoted his free time to philological studies and developed a scholarly reputation.He delivered two lectures to philological societies in Saint Petersburg in 1897 and 1900 and was a member of the Lithuanian Literary Society.