Dakota Paris

Dakota W. Paris, Associate Attorney Dakota W. Paris joined Rooney McBride and Smith, LLC as an Associate Attorney after serving as a Litigation Associate Attorney at a regional law firm and after serving the citizens of Greene County, Missouri as a Senior Assistant Prosecuting Attorney.   A proud Willard High School alum, Dakota went on to graduate magna cum laude with honors from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri with a B.S. in Business Management, prior to graduating cum laude from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law with a Juris Doctorate and an emphasis in advocacy. During law school, Dakota competed on the school’s mock trial team, was an editor of the UMKC Law Review, Chief Prosecutor of the law school’s honor court, and received the Latshaw Award for excellence in criminal law studies. During this time, Dakota completed an internship with the Jackson County, Missouri Prosecutor’s Office before clerking for a Kansas City, boutique, civil litigation law firm.   While at the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, Dakota primarily represented the State of Missouri involving crimes committed against special victims, including sexual assaults, domestic assaults, and child abuse and neglect cases. Dakota is a certified “Child First” forensic interviewer and frequently assisted children in navigating the complex justice system. Dakota gained valuable experience in the intricacies of prosecuting, and now defending, driving while intoxicated offenses, not only through the dozens of trials and hearings he handled and over fifty hours of advanced DWI training he has undergone, but also as a prior member of the state-wide, Missouri DWI Best Practices Committee, where Dakota served alongside prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and forensic criminalists in developing state-wide “best practices and procedures” for investigating and prosecuting driving while intoxicated offenses.   In addition to his legal practice, Dakota is an adjunct faculty member at Missouri State University, teaching in the Criminology Department as well as serving as faculty at the Drury University Law Enforcement Academy, teaching constitutional law, search and seizure law, and statutory law to future law enforcement officers.   Dakota is a proud member of the Springfield Bar Association, Missouri Association of Defense Attorneys, and Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.  Dakota is both excited and proud to support both the domestic relations and litigation division of Rooney McBride & Smith, LLC as well as expand the services offered by RMS to include criminal defense representation.

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