Denise Childress

Denise L. Childress is President of Childress Legal, LLC, where she is a trial lawyer. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Missouri and practices criminal, DWI-DUI, and traffic law. Ms. Childress serves on the Executive Board of the St. Charles County Bar Association, currently as President. In 2020, she was appointed by the mayor, and ratified by City Council vote, to the St. Charles City Parks and Recreation Board, where she serves on the Executive Committee as Secretary. In 2020, Ms. Childress co-founded The Missouri DWI Institute, LLC, with the mission to educate Missouri lawyers, judges, and law enforcement officers on the scientific and technical aspects of DWI law. In 2019, Ms. Childress was awarded the Women's Justice Award by the Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Before opening her own practice, Ms. Childress joined Carl Ward Law as an Associate attorney, working her way up over the years to becoming a named partner at what was then Ward & Childress | Trial Attorneys. Over her career, she has tried countless DWI license suspension and/or revocation cases. In 2018, she was named as the Assistant to the Co-Chairs of the Bernard Edelman DWI Law and Science Seminar, the largest DWI continuing legal education seminar held in the State of Missouri. She serves on the Amicus Committee for the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, writing amicus briefs on behalf of MACDL in the Missouri Supreme Court. In 2016, she was awarded as an Up & Coming Law Firm Leader by Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Ms. Childress previously worked for the Missouri State Public Defender System as an Assistant Public Defender in Farmington, Missouri. Before joining MSPD, Ms. Childress worked as an attorney at ArchCity Defenders, Inc, a nonprofit organization that strives to prevent and end homelessness in St. Louis by providing criminal and civil legal services in collaboration with a network of social services to break the cycle of “revolving door justice.” Dedicated to the service of others and improving her legal skills, Ms. Childress has previously completed four volunteer internships with MSPD, working as a Rule 13 Intern in St. Charles, as a Law Student Intern in St. Louis County, and as an Undergraduate Student Intern in both St. Louis City and Kirksville. In 2012, Ms. Childress received her J.D. with a concentration in Criminal Litigation Skills from Saint Louis University School of Law, where she spent the Fall of 2009 and the Spring of 2011 on the Dean’s List.