Top Rated Criminal Defense Attorney in Springfield, MO

Joseph S. Passanise is a co-founder and partner in the Law Offices of Dee Wampler & Joseph Passanise in Springfield, Missouri. Focusing his practice on exclusively criminal defense, he represents clients throughout Missouri in a wide range of felony and misdemeanor matters, including high-profile jury and bench trials involving sexual assault, gun and drug charges, driving while intoxicated, and state and federal white collar crimes.

After graduating from Missouri State University with a degree in political science, Mr. Passanise earned a Master of Arts in communication from the same university in 1993. After obtaining a Master of Business Administration from University of London Imperial College in 1994, he attended Washburn University School of Law, where he was awarded his Juris Doctor in 1997. While in law school, he was named to the Order of Barristers and received a Corpus Juris Secundum award in criminal law. Admitted to practice in Missouri, Mr. Passanise is also licensed to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Highly regarded by his peers, Mr. Passanise has been awarded an AV-Preeminent* rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Included among his many other honors are the Lon O. Hocker Award and President's Award from The Missouri Bar and the 2008 President's Award from the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.

A past president of the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Mr. Passanise remains active in that organization as well as many other professional groups, including the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. and the American Judicature Society. A frequent speaker at conferences of fellow attorneys, he also gives freely of his time and services to the National Child Abuse Defense & Resource Center.

*AV-Preeminent and BV-Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.