Dan Daly

A Fearless Criminal Defense Attorney With Unmatched Credentials

When facing a serious criminal charge, there is arguably no decision more important to make than who to hire as your defense attorney. It is absolutely vital that you hire a lawyer who is smart, savvy, and has serious courtroom experience. Attorney Daniel (“Dan”) P. Daly has been licensed to practice law in Massachusetts since 2004 and during the course of his legal career he has held multiple positions in the criminal law field that give him an inside knowledge of the criminal justice system that is second to none. Along with that one-of-a-kind experience, Dan is a battled-tested trial attorney having served as lead trial counsel in over one hundred (100) trials and in hundreds of evidentiary hearings and motions.

Raised in the West Roxbury section of Boston, Dan attended high school at one of Boston’s 3 prestigious exam schools – Boston Latin Academy. After graduating in ’97, Dan attended Stonehill College where he completed an internship his junior year at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. After graduation, Dan returned to Washington, D.C. to attend law school at The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law on a partial academic scholarship. While at Catholic Law, Dan was one of a few select group of students selected following a rigorous class-wide advocacy competition to compete against various law schools across the country as part of the school’s National Trial Team. In his 3rd year of law school – while still a member of the National Trial Team – Dan was also selected to participate in the prestigious “D.C. Law Students in Court” criminal clinical defense clinic which focused on providing indigent criminal defense to those persons accused of crimes in the D.C. Superior Court. This experience launched Dan’s career as a compassionate and non-judgmental advocate in providing person’s facing very difficult times in their lives with the best legal defense possible. It was also during this clinical experience that Dan tasted his first trial victory – a defense verdict against a federal prosecutor at the United States Attorney’s Office.

After law school, Dan returned back to Massachusetts in ’04 and began his first legal job as an Assistant District Attorney in Boston. As an ADA, he practiced in the South Boston and Roxbury Divisions of the Boston Municipal Court (“BMC”) prosecuting a variety of misdemeanor and felony offenses. Dan held this position until he accepted an appointment as a Boston Police Officer in October of ’05. While in the Boston Police Academy, Dan was elected by his fellow recruits as class 43-05’s Vice-President and was assigned to Area A-1 (Downtown Boston, the North End, and Charlestown) upon graduation where he served as a rapid-response and community service patrol unit. As a patrol officer, Dan was certified by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) in the administration of standardized field sobriety testing. As a practicing attorney, Dan is one of the very few lawyers in Massachusetts to hold this distinction.

In ’07, Dan accepted an appointment as an Assistant Attorney General in Washington, D.C. and relocated back to D.C. to once again become a prosecutor. Assigned to the Juvenile Unit of the Public Safety Division, Dan prosecuted almost every criminal offense imaginable over the course of the next 5 years. In ’12, he left government service and entered into private practice by opening a solo criminal defense practice (The Law Office of Dan Daly) focused exclusively on criminal and juvenile defense with an emphasis on impaired driving offenses. Dan obtained further significant trial experience on the defense side during these years.

In ’14, Dan relocated back to Massachusetts, settling in the Western Mass area. Being new to the Springfield area, Dan entered the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney assigned to Springfield District Court to reacquaint himself with Massachusetts criminal law and procedure and to gain familiarity with the courthouse culture. Dan served as an ADA until his trial skills were recognized by a large insurance defense firm in the area, and he once again found himself entering private practice. This time around – as a civil litigator – Dan’s practice focused on defending doctors, dentists, and lawyers in medical and legal malpractice actions respectively. Dan also represented large companies in defending products liability and premises liability actions.

In the summer of ’17 – after almost two years of civil practice – Dan recognized that he was missing the thrill and personal satisfaction of criminal defense work. He decided to resign his position at the firm and focused his efforts to open a firm focused exclusively on criminal defense with a specialization in drunk driving (OUI, DWI, DUI) defense and other related motor vehicle offenses. In the fall of ’17, “Daly Law, P.C.” opened its doors located in the heart of downtown Springfield’s Financial District. Within a very short period of time, Dan’s practice has gained a reputation for providing premier legal representation focused on impeccable attention to detail, client service, and most importantly results. Dan’s efforts have not gone unnoticed as he was honored by The National Trial Lawyers in November ’18 as a recipient of their prestigious peer-nominated “Top 40 Under 40” for criminal defense in Massachusetts.

When not fighting and advocating for his clients in court, Dan spends his free time with his wife, two children, and their Rottweiler, Raven. Most weekends involve attending multiple sporting events for his children and helping coach youth sports throughout the Western MA area (soccer, baseball, hockey, and basketball). Dan also enjoys the beach, traveling, playing the guitar and drums, basketball, and weightlifting.

Education

J.D., The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, 2004

B.A., Stonehill College, 2001
Political Science

Boston Latin Academy, 1997

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

National College of DUI Defense
Member Since: 2012
See Profile

Hampden County Bar Association
Member Since: 2014
Chair of the Criminal Law Section

Hampden County Lawyers for Justice Bar Advocate Program
Member Since: 2017

DUI Defense Lawyers Association
Member Since: Feb 2020
See Profile

Prior Experience

• Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County DA’s Office (Roxbury and South Boston) – 2004-2005
• Police Officer, Boston Police Department (Area A-1, Downtown, North End, Charlestown) – 2005-2007
• Assistant Attorney General, DC Attorney General’s Office (Wash, D.C.) – 2007-2012
• Criminal Defense Attorney, The Law Office of Dan Daly (Wash, D.C.) – 2012-2014
• Assistant District Attorney, Hampden County DA’s Office (Springfield) – 2014-2015
• Special Assistant District Attorney, Northwestern DA’s Office (Northampton) – 2014
• Morrison Mahoney, LLP (Springfield) – 2015-2017

Awards

• “Top 40 Under 40”, The National Trial Lawyers – 2018
• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America – 1996

Past Associations

• Member of National Trial Team @ CUA Law – 2003
• Treasurer of the National Security Law Student Association – 2003
• Deputy Chancellor of CUA Moot Court – 2004
• President of the Irish-American Law Student Association – 2004
• Member of the Thurgood Marshall Inn of Court – 2007
• Member of the Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) Panel for the District of Columbia – 2012-2014