About Denise
Denise Kirby began her legal pathway at Missouri State University, where she earned a B.S. degree in 1990 after starting her undergraduate studies in 1986. She went on to complete her Juris Doctor at Georgetown University Law Center in 1994. Those years framed a move from regional undergraduate study to a national law school, and set the stage for a practice that would center on criminal defense and impaired driving work.
Fresh out of law school, Kirby joined Shook Hardy & Bacon as an associate in 1994. That post gave her exposure to a large-firm environment early in her career. Two years later she launched her own practice. In 1996 she opened The Law Offices of Denise Kirby, LLC. Over the following decades she maintained that independent practice, practicing primarily in Missouri and Kansas.
Kirby’s courtroom work has consistently involved impaired driving cases. She holds certification in Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That credential is a technical supplement to her trial experience. It informs how she evaluates evidence from traffic stops, breath and blood testing, and officer testimony.
Professional involvement beyond the courthouse has been a steady part of Kirby’s career. She has been a member of the National College for DUI Defense since 2017. At the state level she has held leadership positions. She has served as president of the Missouri Society for Criminal Justice since 2016 and as president of the Missouri DWI Defense Institute from the same year. Her work with the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers began in 2015; she has served on that organization’s board of directors and on its DWI Committee. Earlier in her career she was a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association from 1994 to 2013.
Colleagues and clients see Kirby as an attorney who combines attention to technical evidence with courtroom experience. She takes cases to trial when needed and handles pretrial motions and negotiations when that serves her clients. Her practice has evolved alongside changing forensic methods and state rules of criminal procedure.
Kirby continues to operate under the firm name Denise Kirby Law and maintains an active practice in Missouri and Kansas. Her current practice focuses on DWI defense and related criminal matters.
