Mimi Coffey | Attorney at Law

To all my past, present and future clients, and for anyone who is curious: If you ever wanted a nutshell version of "DWI at Night, Coffey in the Morning" here you are straight from the source. I have practiced law for 19 years. This defines who I am. At the age of 12, my father encouraged me to be a lawyer after helping me write and practice a Student Council Treasurer campaign speech (I ended the speech, "Vote Me Me for You You" and won, so it's true I come by my marketing quite honestly). In my wildest dreams, I never could have fathomed how much injustice there was in the world of criminal law, particularly DWI. As a new lawyer, I heard about the National College of DUI Defense or NCDD (celebrating its 20th anniversary this year) training held at Harvard every July. I went to it and my world was lit on fire. It was shocking to find out how inaccurate breath testing was; how the National Highway Safety Administration skewed statistics and cond...

Yes, it's that time of year- where everyone wants to party on New Year's Eve but fears a DWI. If I wasn't a DWI lawyer, I would not know what to do, so in that spirit here are my tips based on 19 years of experience. Please be advised that different states have different laws and if you are on probation, these tips don't apply as most probations condition you fully cooperate with a DWI investigation. If you are in Texas and NOT on DWI probation, take heed. First I would like to add, that the best thing is to try to avoid putting yourself in this situation. I highly advise UBER, a cab, or a designated driver. Speaking of which, if you TRULY have not consumed too much make sure you have a portable breath test device (you can buy them in the automotive section of Walmart) in your car. Blow into it if you get pulled over, show the cop. It is one of the smartest ways of avoiding being arrested. I have a fellow Regent in the NCDD who did this.  No cop wants to realistically...