Wampler & Passanise

United States 2025

Metro Rankings

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General Information

Practice Areas

Individuals recognized in Best Lawyers

Client Comments

Year founded: 1973

This is the year the firm (or its earliest predecessor entity) was founded.

Overview

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Wampler & Passanise is a criminal defense firm representing adults and juveniles facing serious criminal allegations at the federal, state, and municipal court levels. The firm has an experienced team of legal professionals with decades of combined experience, providing clients with winning defense strategies for the most serious criminal charges, including homicide; gun, drug, and weapons offenses; domestic violence; burglary; and embezzlement and other white-collar crimes.

Managing Partner Joseph S. Passanise and Of Counsel Thomas Carver are skilled in courtroom litigation and follow a cross-functional team approach to criminal defense cases, a key point of difference for the firm. The attorneys, paralegals, and investigators collaborate to review cases and develop the strongest criminal defense strategies. The firm focuses on creating positive lifelong impacts for clients, often working with medical, mental health, and probation and parole professionals to strengthen positive outcomes.

Criminal Defense Attorney Joseph S. Passanise has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for 17 years. He was also named by Best Lawyers in America in 2021 Ed. as Springfield Lawyer of the Year for Criminal Defense: General Practice and in 2022 Ed. as Springfield Lawyer of the Year for Criminal Defense: White Collar. Passanise is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a prestigious and rigorously vetted legal organization.

The firm's Of Counsel, Defense Attorney Thomas Carver, received the Robert Duncan Award for Appellate Excellence from the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers in Missouri and Kansas for more than a decade. He has been selected by his peers as Best Lawyers Attorney of the Year on five different occasions for white-collar criminal defense. He serves on the board of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association (SMBA), and the SMBA Foundation.

Wampler & Passanise has been recognized among the region’s best criminal defense firms by Best Lawyers® for 14 years, Super Lawyers® for 16 years, Martindale-AVVO, and the National Trial Lawyers (NTL) Top 100 for 14 years.

Firm News

November 20, 2024

Charges Dropped Against Missouri Man Accused of Threatening Arizona Election Official

April 10, 2024

Missouri State Honors Distinguished Alumni

March 29, 2024

Daycare Operator Sentenced Following Infant Death

June 2, 2023

Gutting Declared Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in MSU Professor's Murder

Rankings

Wampler & Passanise is metro ranked in 3 practice areas. Best Law Firms rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process.

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Metro Rankings

Springfield-MO

Tier 1 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar

Tier 1 for DUI / DWI Defense

Tier 3 for Criminal Defense: General Practice

Firm Leadership

Joseph S. Passanise

Partner

Highlighted Client Comments

All client comments represent the opinions of the people who provided them. All potential clients are urged to remember that no two cases are ever completely alike and that the result in one case does not guarantee a similar result in another case.

Criminal Defense: General Practice

Wampler and Passanise Law Office is extremely knowledgeable and professional. They take the time to explain and answer questions about everything that is going on with your case. And they explain it in clear and precise terms that you can understand. I highly recommend Wampler and Passanise Law Office.

Rankings

Regional Rankings

Springfield-MO

Tier 1 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar

Tier 1 for DUI / DWI Defense

Tier 3 for Criminal Defense: General Practice

Practice Areas

The below are areas of legal specialty volunteered by the firm and do not designate a specialty in which a Best Law Firms ranking is held.

Criminal Defense: General Practice
Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Drug Offenses
Sex Abuse
Vehicular Manslaughter
Violent and Nonviolent Crimes

Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^®

Wampler & Passanise has 2 lawyers recognized for individual performance in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®. By receiving this Best Lawyers recognition from their peers for their professional excellence, these lawyers made Wampler & Passanise eligible for evaluation for Best Law Firms rankings. For almost two decades, Best Lawyers has awarded these singular accolades, making them the foundation of our Best Law Firms awards. Read more about our Best Lawyers process here.

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Client Comments

Editions

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Awards

Awards are self-reported by firms and are not verified by the Best Law Firms rankings.

US. News & World Report Best Law Firms
Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers
Best Lawyers in America, 2022 Ed. Springfield Lawyer of the Year for Criminal Defense: White Collar (Passanise)