LEGAL NEWS PHOTO BY CYNTHIA PRICE
by Cynthia Price
Legal News
“When someone who has a drinking and driving charge comes through our door, we see him or her as a husband or mother. We see them as the people they are in the worst time of their lives,” says Michael J. Boyle of Barone Defense Firm, which does exclusively DUI defense.
“We have the resources to bring them out of it. And that doesn’t always mean ‘getting them off.’ It depends on how you define success and how you measure it. For us it comes down to what the client regards as success, and how we’ve helped that individual client get to that. That’s where we take the most pride.”
Boyle has just been made a partner and shareholder in the statewide firm which takes the name of its founder, Patrick Barone.
Barone is a well-known expert on drunk driving defense. He has written books and manuals on the subject, including Michigan DUI Law: A Citizens’ Guide and Defending Drinking Drivers (with John A. Tarantino); contributed to the 2012 and 2014 editions of Defending DUI Vehicular Homicide Cases, published by Thomson Reuters Westlaw; taught as an adjunct at WMU-Cooley Law School; and served on the faculty of the National College for DUI?Defense.?He has been given a rating of “Seriously Outstanding” by SuperLawyers.
“Mike has been with the Barone Defense Firm for nine years, and during his time with us he has consistently aligned himself with the firm’s mission as well as the highest ethical and professional standards of our profession,” said Barone in a statement. “We are proud to recognize his work, which has made him a leader in the firm and among our professional peers.”
Boyle and Barone originally met while Boyle was in solo practice in the Detroit area. At first, Boyle worked under contract to assist Barone as the Birmingham firm’s DUI?practice grew.
“After a period of a few months, I was brought on full time. And it’s been an amazing journey to see our firm grow and to be part of it,” he says.
Despite finding himself on the east side of the state after law school, Boyle has West Michigan roots. He was raised in North Muskegon, a town where the very small school district has a reputation for academic excellence. “It’s a wonderful place to grow up,” Boyle comments.
After that, he attended Albion College, another learning institution with rigorous standards. He majored in economics and management, and received some job offers right out of undergrad, but made up his mind to go to law school.
He received his J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School at a time when the Lansing campus was the only one.
Boyle then accepted an offer from a large Michigan firm’s Detroit office, working in the insurance area. “I lived downtown and worked downtown and it was what I thought I wanted to do.” But after only a few years, he recognized that he needed to interact with people, and he struck out on his own.
The chance meeting with Barone opened up a new chapter for him. After seven years in the Birmingham office, Boyle moved to Grand Rapids — for two reasons. “My wife, at the time my future wife, lived here,” he explains. She is a teacher at East Kentwood schools. “And our business in West Michigan was growing.”
Two years ago, he opened up a Barone Defense office at 61 Commerce SW, sharing with other law offices. “It’s a beautiful space and location,” Boyle comments. “I?love being in this part of town.”
It seems that Boyle feels good about every aspect of his work at Barone. He does respect the fact that people have strong concerns about public safety. “Everybody in our firm struggles with that. We drive on the same roads, our families can be affected by the people we represent, too. But ideally, we want to protect the public just like prosecutors and judges do.”
And, he adds, “We get involved at a time when we probably have the most influence over what clients are going to do. We say that we win back our clients’ lives, but that doesn’t just mean in the courtroom. If they have substance abuse issues, we can help them with that. If they feel isolated and ashamed, we can help them with that too,” he says.
Boyle has trusted social work and counseling colleagues and organizations he can turn to throughout West Michigan. He really listens to each client’s story and judges whether in-patient care or counseling may benefit each, based on judgment he’s cultivated his whole life. “When I went to Albion, my curriculum included psychology and philosophy classes, which certainly play a role in my life today,” he says.
He cautions that not all people charged with DUI or OWI are alcoholics. In many cases getting behind the wheel is a one-time bad decision, stemming from poor planning or even from a misperception about the degree of their impairment, brought on by the nature of alcohol itself.
There is often a lag between when an individual feels most drunk, in the sense of euphoria or relaxation, and when the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), and therefore impairment, is highest. Boyle is certified to use the BAC Tracker software, which helps him calculate metabolic aspects of alcohol consumption, and he has additional certifications that help him serve his clients with distinction.
As a result, he has been designated a Rising Star since 2012, and received the AVVO?Client Choice Award.
Now that he is a partner, Boyle’s duties will expand to helping with the management and success of Barone Defense Firm. He will work more closely with the other four more junior attorneys in the Birmingham office, mentoring them.
In all of these tasks, but primarily in client service, Boyle says he is thankful for recent technology changes, and expresses astonishment at how much has changed in the brief nine years he has been at Barone.
“I expect a lot from myself and I believe my clients deserve everything I can give them. That includes my time even at night and on the weekends. I don’t want a client to fret or to be scared because I don’t have access to a document. So I have everything in my phone and on the iPad.
“I remember carrying all these file folders with me, and having to hang up and check with my office if someone wanted to make an appointment... The pace of the practice is so much quicker and efficient now,” he says.
Another change he applauds is the creation of sobriety courts. “I think many people now recognize that treatment and rehabilitation are more powerful preventative measures than throwing someone in jail,” he observes.
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