Dineen drives DUI practice

Nathan   Dineen – Vanden Heuvel & Dineen SC (WLJ Photo by Kevin Harnack)

Nathan Dineen’s name is synonymous with DUIs.

Professionally, he couldn’t be more proud.

It’s a goal he’s worked toward since his 2010 graduation from the Ave Maria School of Law. In three years of professional practice, Dineen firmly has established the specialty practice area at his family’s Germantown-based firm, Vanden Heuvel & Dineen SC.

Rather than follow his parents’ practice areas of trucking or family law, Dineen followed his initial intrigue in the state’s “outlier” framework of charges and testing on DUIs/OWIs. Now he has a weekly caseload and leads all search engine results, YouTube videos and even his Twitter handle back to his practice.

DUI defense might not be publicly popular, but Dineen said he continually comes back to the human aspects of these cases.

“I’ve represented police officers, truck drivers, aldermen, you name it,” he said. “Just because you make one mistake, are you going to let that affect you for the rest of your life?”

In a state known for beer and drinking, Dineen said the practice is becoming immersed in chemical lab analysis and medical definitions, concrete or otherwise, related to all varieties of prescription medication use.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s going to be the forefront of OWIs,” Dineen said. “The way they’re testing, the way people use them, is going to be interesting moving forward.”

What is the hardest part of your job?

Getting the jury to understand blood testing

What can you spend hours doing that’s not law-related?

Up in Door County, out on the water

What famous person you would most like to have a drink with?

Brett Favre

What is your greatest fear?

A shark

What trait do you most like in others?

Intelligence

What is the first concert you went to?

Hootie and the Blowfish

What do you miss most about your childhood?

Lack of responsibility

Where would you like to be in five years?

Known as the best DUI attorney in the state