We defend
Illinois drivers.

Owner

Derek Martin is from the south suburbs of Chicago. He attended Illinois State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Derek worked at a major media company for five years before deciding to enroll in law school.

He attended Chicago-Kent College of Law part-time at night while working full-time during the day. Derek supervised and managed 55 employees at the company, before leaving to practice law full-time.

As a real estate investor since his early twenties, Derek built a solo practice managing real estate transactions for investors throughout Chicagoland.

Derek has since co-founded Driver Defense Team where he now represents clients in all types of traffic defense and DUI matters.

Owner

Stephanie Kemen is a Wisconsin native and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. After graduation, she began law school at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

During law school, Stephanie gained valuable trial experience as a felony clerk with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. After graduation, that experience allowed her to begin working for a private criminal defense attorney soon after passing both the Illinois and Wisconsin bar exams.

Since 2009, Stephanie has worked with some of the most prominent defense attorneys in Cook County. In 2012, she opened her own firm, the Law Office of Stephanie Kemen. Stephanie has built a reputation of providing diligent representation by successfully representing her clients on thousands of criminal and traffic matters.

In 2016, Stephanie co-founded Driver Defense Team where she continues to defend DUI, criminal, and all types of traffic cases.

Attorney

Colin Gage was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School and worked for a private firm where he handled criminal, traffic, and family law cases.

After working privately, Mr. Gage worked for the City of Chicago as a prosecutor in the traffic and administrative hearings divisions prosecuting traffic tickets, code violations, and vehicle impoundments. Over the course of his tenure with the City, Mr. Gage conducted hundreds of vehicle impoundment and Chicago ordinance hearings and prosecuted thousands of these violations.

At Driver Defense Team, Mr. Gage specializes in vehicle impoundments and Chicago code violations and has been defending these violations for over 2 years.

He is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and Wisconsin and is a diehard fan of our 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs.

Attorney

Chris Dionne attended the University of California, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 2005. In 2007, Chris moved to Chicago to attend Loyola University School of Law, graduating in 2010.

While attending Loyola, Chris competed on the Latin American Students Association ABA Criminal Law Trial Team, serving as Lead Counsel.

In 2014, Loyola University Chicago School of Law awarded Chris with an adjunct faculty position. He also coaches law students on the Civil Law Mock Trial Team.

Professionally, Chris worked for the City of Chicago for over three years. While with the City, Chris prosecuted defendants who were accused of violating various Illinois State traffic violations, City of Chicago traffic code violations and misdemeanor Chicago Codes.

In February 2015, Chris left the City to work as a defense attorney. Since leaving the City, Chris has successfully defended hundreds of individuals accused of violating local and State traffic offenses.

Attorney

David Badillo earned his Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University and his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is fluent in the Spanish language and has over 10 years experience defending traffic, misdemeanor and felony cases as well as administrative hearings with the Secretary of State. David has handled all aspects of criminal cases in state, federal and local courts. In his spare time, David volunteers with several community service groups that provide pro bono legal clinics to low income individuals. He also enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family.

David is also a past President of The Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois and is a member of The Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the Hispanic National Bar Association.

Attorney

Douglas Swift has been practicing law for over 20 years, concentrating in all phases of criminal law. He served as a public defender in Charleston, South Carolina where he learned the value of intense preparation and the necessity of creative and empathetic approaches to criminal law cases.

Doug also served over 10 years as a prosecuting attorney. In that role, Doug received two special awards in recognition of the quality of his performance.

Doug graduated from the Indiana School of Law-Indianapolis in 1994. He has practiced in Indiana and South Carolina before coming to Illinois. In addition to his public service, Doug has represented clients in private practice in forums ranging from municipal traffic courts to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The common thread uniting all of his practice is his ability to listen to his clients and find solutions to their problems through his experience, creativity, and preparation.

Google Rating

5.0

Driver Defense Team

5.0

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Todd Lawrence

16:37 07 Jun 17

This place is incredible. I had gotten a bogus ticket by a Big-headed State Trooper with a Swollen Ego that not even his 2011 white unmarked Crown Victoria could hold as he tried to merge with me off an On-ramp as I was traveling NB I-55 at the I-294 South Interchange. I knew I was in the right and both the Attorney's Assistant Maria and the Attorney Mr. Martin were very understanding and overly co-operative with my frustration. I currently hold a C.D.L. in the state of Illinois and it is important for me to bring home money. The team at Drivers' Defense understood this and made me feel like I wasn't just another guy to collect easy paycheck from, but took my trust and their experience and handled my Citation very swiftly and with great skill that it felt as if I knew I was in great hands. All I had to do after the first intake call was make my payment arrangement and pray, the rest was in theirs' and God's hands. It works out great when they help you here. I continue on a major scale to spread the word about them daily and weekly in my profession and with friends and family. As you can tell I talk a lot and I am very detail oriented. But I can't say enough how impressed and happy I chose this group of incredible people to help me.Sincerely,Toddread more

Zach Lukachik

16:00 17 Apr 17

The professionals at Driver Defense Team certainly know what they're doing. I had recently acquired a moving violation and they were able to get it dismissed. Their rates are amazing especially considering that I ended up paying nothing in fines or court costs. Not to mention the fact that my driving record remains clean because of their performance. The team that worked with me was very diligent and thorough. The communication was outstanding as I was kept in the loop every step of the way. This was easily the least amount of headache I've ever dealt with regarding a traffic violation. It's pretty refreshing to be able to say that. I highly recommend Driver Defense Team if you are ever in need. They take care of business.read more

Kal P

20:15 27 Jun 17

Extremely helpful and professional!I am a chauffeur and CPD and BACP treat us differently, but the DDT team dismissed my U-Turn ticket in the Loop. Moreover , it will not be on my driving record.Thank you very much!!!Highly recommended!!!Keep up the good jobread more

Vaibhav Parakh

17:47 01 Jul 17

I had a really nice experience with these guys. They were very responsive and they got my ticket dismissed. It's definitely worth the money. (They aren't that expensive)read more

Ayoola Awofadeju

12:50 20 Apr 17

Outstanding experience. Excellent service. My son's tickets were painlessly taken care of. I'm truly appreciative of this wonderful service. The price can't be beat, and the customer service was great. I will use this firm again and recommend it to anyone having traffic issues.read more

Devonte Morris

20:03 02 May 17

I love this place. Tricia I think her name is, was very personable and her pictures do her no justice by the way. They got my case dismissed and very informative in red to any questions I had. This was in reference to driving on a suspended license. Thanks again, already referred a few clients to you guys. 😁read more

Jesse Garcia

19:56 23 Aug 17

I walked into the office Saturday morning worried that I was going to lose my job and license for CDL. Luckily I walked in and got attended by a gentleman name Danny that is well educated and knew how to calm me down and get me quick assistant. After, I went to court for a good attorney Chris Dionne and got my ticket dismissed with no point assessed to my license. Thank you Chris,Danny and Driver Defense Teamread more

Jorge

17:10 09 Sep 17

Hands down best group I have ever worked with the staff is amazing the lawyer chris that helped me with my case, good guy did his best to help me n get all my tickets dropped!! Will recommend all the people I knowread more

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Attorney

Eric Tibbs is originally from Central Illinois and moved to Chicago in 2010. He graduated from the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign in 2003, and received his Juris Doctorate in 2007 from the University of Tulsa.

Eric practiced for three years as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Tazewell County, where he was a prosecutor in the Traffic Division. Eric has over ten years of experience with DUI cases, Statutory Summary Suspension hearings, and License Reinstatement hearings. He has been involved in numerous bench and jury trials, involving every type of traffic-related offense. Eric currently resides in the city of Chicago, where he enjoys playing guitar and Playstation 4.