Washington, DC (August 22, 2017) – New Orleans, Louisiana, Attorney Robert S. Toale was sworn in as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's Annual Meeting in San Francisco on July 29, 2017.

Mr. Toale is the founder of the Law Office of Robert S. Toale, a practice focusing exclusively on criminal defense. He works on state, federal, and juvenile criminal cases throughout Southeast Louisiana assisted by his associate, Kara Anne Larson. He has tried over 100 jury trials and represented over 5,000 clients.

Mr. Toale is a Life Member of NACDL, which he joined in 1986. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Public Defense Committee. Mr. Toale is a member of NACDL’s Budget and Death Penalty Committees. In addition to his contributions to NACDL, Mr. Toale is a Lifetime Member of NACDL's affiliate, the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (LACDL). Mr. Toale was installed as LACDL President-Elect in December 2012 and LACDL President in December 2013. At LACDL, Mr. Toale has advocated abolishing capital punishment in Louisiana and bringing adequate funding to indigent defense programs.

Mr. Toale is a graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College and of the National Criminal Defense College's Trial Practice Institute, and he has attended multiple-day training sessions at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He was certified as Capital Lead Trial Counsel by the Louisiana Public Defender Board. After Katrina, Mr. Toale remained in New Orleans and tried (pro bono) the first 12-person jury trial in Orleans Parish post-Katrina. He has also served his community as Parliamentarian of the Alliance for Good Government, a non-profit organization that hosts forums and endorses candidates for election in Louisiana. Mr. Toale further serves the community as a board member of the Louisiana Justice PAC and as a legal committee member at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Additionally, Mr. Toale has been interviewed and quoted by numerous news outlets, including CBS News, Newsweek, the Times-Picayune, the ABA Journal, and the National Law Journal.

Mr. Toale received his B.A. at Tulane University in 1975 and graduated from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 1982.

Contacts

Alexandra Funk, NACDL Public Affairs & Communications Assistant, (202) 465-7647 or afunk@nacdl.org 

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.