Deborah Daniels has led an exceptional, accomplished legal career for nearly five decades. Since 2020, she has been a neutral with Lexitas, concurrently serving as a senior judge for the State of Missouri, a role she has held since 2018. In her capacity as a senior judge, she is responsible for overseeing civil, criminal, and juvenile hearings in the associate division and civil cases in the circuit division.
Before her current positions, Ms. Daniels was an associate circuit judge for the State of Missouri from 2007 to 2018. In this capacity, she handled all cases in the probate division, including trust litigation, involuntary commitments, decedent’s estates, guardianship, and conservatorship. Additionally, she managed dockets for sexually violent predators, conducted first appearances for criminal cases, and preliminary hearings. Her tenure as a trial judge was distinguished by her role as the supervising judge for the probate court, a responsibility previously held by a circuit judge.
Ms. Daniels’ areas of expertise include probate litigation, trust litigation, expert testimony, criminal law instructions, and Missouri appellate practice. Her responsibilities as a senior judge encompass a broad range of judicial functions, from civil and criminal hearings to juvenile cases. As a special judge, she has also handled appellate cases in the Missouri Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Ms. Daniels’ professional journey includes her time as an NCSI judge, a position she has held since 2007. Earlier in her career, she worked for the office of the Missouri Attorney General as chief counsel and as an assistant in the Boone County prosecuting attorney’s. Moreover, she contributed her legal expertise to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office and directed the Missouri Supreme Court research staff. Ms. Daniels’ long and storied legal career began as a law clerk for the Missouri Supreme Court.
For her immense body of work and achievements, Ms. Daniels has been recognized with numerous honors. In 1995, she received recognition from the Judicial Conference of Missouri for her advancement in the administration of justice and the Missouri Supreme Court Award for her contributions to the administration of justice. In 2018, she was honored with the Missouri Lawyers’ Weekly Women’s Justice Award for Public Service. Her academic excellence is evidenced by her membership in Phi Beta Kappa, her contributions to the University of Missouri-Columbia Law Review, and her induction into the Honorary Order of the Coif in 2004. Ms. Daniels also received the Faculty Achievement Award from the University of Missouri and has been a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation since 2003.
Ms. Daniels’ academic foundation includes a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the same institution, which she completed in 1972. She was admitted to the Missouri Bar and the Boone County Bar Association and is a fellow of the American Bar Association Foundation. With many noteworthy academy contributions, Ms. Daniels served as an adjunct law professor at the University of Missouri from 1983 to 2012, teaching legal research and writing. She found great satisfaction in shaping the skills of her students, many of whom have gone on to become appellate judges.
With a lifelong commitment to her field, Ms. Daniels has served as a member of the planning committee and a speaker for the Missouri Bar Association Annual Meeting from 2015 to 2024, a speaker for NBI CLE in 2024, and a co-author of the second edition of “Objections,” published by the Missouri Bar in 2022. Additionally, she co-reviewed the sixth edition of the Missouri Bar’s “CLE Evidence Restated” in 2021. Ms. Daniels contributed her expertise as a speaker for the Missouri Judicial College from 2007 to 2012 and served as a member of the board of directors for the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges from 2015 to 2018. Her dedication to public service is further demonstrated by her support of the Missouri Psychiatric Center from 2008 to 2018, for which she received a certificate of appreciation.
Throughout her career, Ms. Daniels has been engaged in her community. She has served on the board of Phoenix Programs since 2018, has been a member of Rotary since 2007, and was on the Heart of Missouri United Way’s board of directors from 2015 to 2021. Giving more of her time, she has been involved with the Griffiths Leadership Society, the Boone County Historical Society, and the United States Historical Society. Further, since 1996, Ms. Daniels has been an active member of the Mizzou Alumni Association.
Looking ahead, Ms. Daniels is interested in pursuing a career in arbitration and mediation. Still, she feels blessed and content with her current roles and cherishes the freedom her career affords her to visit and travel with her grandchildren. She ascribes her success to her hard work and talent for recognizing legal problems.
