My name is Teresa, and I am a DUI lawyer, but that is only part of who I am.
I have been a lawyer in Connecticut since 2006, and I have handled thousands of DUI cases since then. Also, I have been recognized by the Connecticut Law Tribune in their 2011 Feature on Women in the Law, and I am an executive board member of the LGBT Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. I have been honored to be called one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Connecticut
My Background
I joined Ruane Attorneys right out of law school. Now, I am a partner. At first, I wanted to concentrate on tax law. But, once I hit the ground running as a DUI lawyer, I knew I had found my calling. I come from a law enforcement family.
My father was a Newington Police officer for 25+ years before his retirement. He still works in law enforcement in West Hartford. But growing up with a police officer as a father I learned the honest truth. Just like there are good and bad doctors and teachers, there are good police officers and then there are those who don’t do the job as well as they should. Those police don’t do a full investigation. They don’t look for innocent explanations to conduct, and they don’t give honest hardworking people the benefit of the doubt.
Where The Police Fail
With all the resources and training that the police and prosecutors get in DUI enforcement one thing often gets overlooked. That the person on the other end of the DUI arrest is often a hardworking, honest tax paying citizen. That person may never have had any experience with the criminal justice system. And, when they see first hand that the system is not set up to protect them, they get scared. That is where I come in. I fight for my clients. My goal is to take on their problems and make them my own. I search for legal and factual defenses that have been overlooked, and I strive to paint the full picture of who my clients are to the judge.
I have worked on cases all the way up to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Also, I am the only lawyer in Connecticut trained in the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath testing device. I have lectured to the Connecticut Public Defenders Office on DUI defense. Also, I am a member of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Connecticut Bar Association.
I have some great lawyers who work for me on my team. They round out the Lady DUI Defense Team.