A Message from the Dean

Dean’s Message 2026 by Joseph P. St. Louis

July, 2026 -- Dear NCDD Members,

I posted on social media about a great result a lawyer in my office achieved. I received the usual “attaboy” responses (actually it was about a female lawyer, so in this case, “attagirl” responses). But not every response was positive. One woman responded: “I could never do that.” She was virtue signaling, saying: “I am a good person; you are a bad person. You get all of your clients off and put dangerous people back out on the streets and endanger everyone.” (Ever notice how the people who look down on us also think we win every case? Not sure how that works.) Through my years defending drinking driver cases I have learned that she’s right. Just not in the way she thinks.

Why are we DUI defense attorneys? Well, it’s fun to win motions hearings, and it’s fun to win trials. But it takes an awful lot of work to become skilled enough to make that happen consistently. So, if you are committed to doing this work, it’s because it’s a calling. You do it because you need to get people second chances in life. Because you are driven to do it. It’s not really a choice. If you are doing this because you think it’s an easy way to make money or because you think being a defense attorney will win you the adoration of the public – boy, are you in for a surprise.

You have to be tough to do what we do; you have to be strong. Prosecutors think their officers are always right and believe our clients are guilty of everything that they are accused of – and more. Judges get reversed when they rule in our favor, so they rule against us. We slow their dockets down by not pleading our clients guilty and making them do evidentiary hearings and multi-day trials. The public thinks we are slick salespeople trying to convince them to let guilty people off.

To be a DUI defense attorney you need the inner strength to ignore the noise and rise above the obstacles we face. I’m lucky. I have always had unconditional love and support in my home life. First from my parents, Bill and Kathyleen St. Louis, then from my wife Tania and our amazing children, Renee and Jack.

But you also need the knowledge and skill to challenge the state’s evidence and persuade a jury. If you could see a comparison of me as a lawyer before joining NCDD and after coming to these seminars, you wouldn’t recognize the before guy. You wouldn’t say to yourself, that guy’s going to have a national reputation as a DUI defense attorney.

Which brings me to the College. In 1994, 10 of the best DUI defense attorneys in the country got together to address the lack of quality education for DUI practitioners. They created the National College for DUI Defense. They were: Doug Cowan, Larry Taylor, John Henry Hingson, Reese Joye, Phil Price, James Farragher Campbell, Gary Trichter, Flem Whited, John Tarantino and William “Bubba” Head. Because NCDD was always meant to be an educational institution, they named it a college instead of an association. We have a Board of Regents instead of a Board of Directors. Instead of a Chairperson of the Board, we have a Dean. And now I’ve been asked to fill that role.

Over 20 years ago, I went to my first NCDD seminar and I was hooked. The College was completely focused on teaching me how to try and win DUI cases. I met the best DUI lawyers in the country and learned from them. Now many of them are friends and mentors.

In my time in the College, I have learned from the best defense attorneys in the Country. Not some of the best. The absolute best. I picked up approaches and arguments from Gary Trichter and the late Steve Jones that I use in every case I try, no matter what the charge is. And trust me – if you can try a DUI case, you can try any type of case. Andrew Mishlove gave me the chance to attend a training with Josh Karton that completely changed my approach to how I communicate with juries.

Now Kim Benjamin and Paco Duarte, Andrew Mishlove and I try to do the same at Andrew’s Serious Science seminar every year. This year we have Josh Karton joining us, so it feels like I’m coming full circle.

In the years that I’ve been with College it has grown and our approach to teaching has evolved. We used to put on four conferences a year, but other than the breakout sessions at the Summer Session, they were all seminars in strictly a lecture format.

Now we have many small, hands-on, specialty seminars where you can learn by doing. We started with metrology, but Andrew took the best parts of that conference, expanded them, and turned it into Serious Science – where you create your own blood sample, test it, and spend three days working on talking to juries about science. We have the field sobriety testing training, where you go through the same training as police officers. Bell Island, who will be the Dean next year, runs a breath testing seminar every year that is hands on.

And next January we will continue what Bruce Edge started, by devoting the Winter Session to AI and technology. The entire second half of day two will be a bring your laptop hands on training where Kim Benjamin and David Katz will walk you through how to use AI in your practice. Speaking of Bruce, he’s done an amazing job this year, and left me big shoes to fill.

NCDD is where I belong. More importantly, NCDD is where you belong. Everyone on this Board and in the College is here for you. If you have a question, you can get an answer in minutes on our list serv. No one has ever failed to respond to me when I have emailed or called needing help. We are all here for each other. We are all here for you.

I listened to a podcast recently where a four-star general spoke about servant leadership. He said that being asked to lead is an honor, and it’s a privilege that you have to earn every day. I believe that, and you have my commitment that I will approach my responsibilities as the Dean by practicing servant leadership. If I can help you, call me. If there is something I can do better, tell me. I am excited about what lies ahead, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead an organization that means so much to me.

And so, the lady who responded to my post was right when she said: “I could never do that.” She doesn’t have the knowledge, the skill or the determination to do this work. But you do. And you get people second chances in life because of it.

Joseph P. St. Louis

Dean, NCDD