Carl J. Civella

 I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.  Attended St. Louis Priory high school in Creve Coeur, Missouri before moving onto college at St. Louis University.  I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree from St. Louis University in Finance in 1988.

After taking a year off to explore an occupation in the Finance field, I decided to listen to the advice from my grandfather and seek my lifelong passion of becoming a lawyer.  I graduated St. Louis University School of Law in 1993.  I immediately obtained a license to practice in both Missouri and Illinois.  Due to my experience with criminal defense during my summers in law school, I decided to open my own criminal defense practice with a focus on DWI and Drug Offenses in 1994.

In 2007, I became a municipal prosecutor, which gave me a unique advantage in the courtroom when defending criminal cases. I was better able to see a criminal case from both sides. Additionally, I have regularly attended DWI seminars nationwide, giving me the latest strategies in DWI defense, and up-to- date knowledge of breath instrument technology

I've been happily married for 22 years and have two boys, ages 18 and 21.  I was very involved with them growing up, teaching them the importance of family, faith and an education.  I thoroughly enjoyed acting as their baseball coach for many of those years.

I have continued my sole practice in Clayton now for 28 years, still passionate and loving what I do!