J. Dean Keegan, Attorney at Law

Law Firm Overview

J. Dean Keegan was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa. After high school Dean served in the United States Navy and eventually settled in Iowa City in 1975. Dean received a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the University of Iowa with coursework emphasis in Social Work and Counseling. From 1979 until 1982 Dean worked as a probation officer with a caseload exclusively of people who were convicted of Operating While Intoxicated. In 1982 Dean went to work for the University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City as a Chemical Dependency Counselor. While employed there Dean co-authorized a theoretical model for the treatment for alcoholism which he presented at the Thirty-First International Institute on the Prevention and Treatment of Alcoholism in Rome, Italy. As a presenter at the conference Dean participated in a Special Private Audience with Pope John Paul II to discuss improved methods for treating alcoholism. From 1989 Dean began the accelerated program at the University of Iowa College of Law and graduated in 1991. Dean joined with Kinnamon, Kinnamon, Russo and Meyer in 1992 as an association of sole practitioners.

Dean is a longstanding Member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, the American Association for Justice, and the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association. Dean was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association in 2003. He founded the Criminal Law Section of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association in the same year. He was Chair of the Criminal Law Section from 2003 to 2006 and a member of the Executive Board of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association from 2003 to 2006. Dean is currently a member of the Board of the Criminal Law Section of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association and the Board of Governors of the Association. His position with the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association has allowed him to draft legislation and lobby in the state of Iowa for common sense amendments to laws governing OWI revocations and CDL cancellations. 

In 2008 Dean was accepted for admittance into the National College for DUI Defense, an organization that promotes effective and aggressive defense of citizens accused of driving under the influence. 

Dean currently maintains offices in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His practice is limited to criminal defense with a major component being Operating While Intoxicated cases. Dean has presented at several conferences on topics related to OWI defense, including field sobriety testing, jury selection in OWI cases, Drug Recognition Evaluation protocols, and the use of video in OWI defense. Dean enjoys a reputation for being extremely knowledgeable in OWI Issues and for zealously representing the accused.

Areas of Practice

• Criminal Law
• DUI/DWI
• Traffic Violations
• White Collar Crimes
• DUI/OWI
• Driving Offenses
• Drug Offenses

Honors and Awards

• Iowa Trial Lawyers Association Meritorious Acheivement Award, 2004

Classes and Seminars

• OWI Defenses - Annual Criminal Law Seminar, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, 2007
• Defending OWI Cases - Annual Criminal Law Seminar, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, 2002
• Annual Criminal Law Seminar, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, 1994
• Annual Criminal Law Seminar, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, 1996
• Annual Criminal Law Seminar, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, 1997
• Annual Criminal Law Seminar, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, 1999

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Administrative Hearings & Adjudication, Criminal Law, DUI/DWI, Drug Violations, Felonies, Juvenile Crimes, Misdemeanor, Parole & Probation, Sex Offenses, Traffic Violations, White Collar Crimes, Transportation Law