Mr. Dirmann was raised in California and attended LaSalle High School in Pasadena, and taught by the Christian Brothers.  He was elected the first Student Body President of LaSalle High School, he attended UCLA, and graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a B.A. in 1964.  Mr. Dirmann received his commission as a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and completed the Basic Officer School in 1965.  He was stationed at 29 Palms, California, and deployed to Vietnam with the 11th Marine Regiment in 1966.  

After completing his military service, he began his study of law at the Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University.  Mercer Law School is one of the oldest law schools in America.  During law school, Mr. Dirmann worked as an intern with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Georgia, where he learned to prepare and try criminal and civil cases in  federal district court.  He was selected as a summer fellow to study at Emory University Law School and worked in the Emory Neighborhood Law Office in Atlanta.  Mr. Dirmann was named as Managing Editor of the Mercer Law Review, the oldest law review in Georgia.  In this position, he was responsible for editing articles, supervision of student staff, and the overall quality of legal writing in the Mercer Law Review.  

Mr. Dirmann and his wife came to Sarasota, Florida in 1970 where he has continued to practice law until the present time.   Mr. Dirmann was admitted to The Florida Bar in November 1970.  He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; and he is admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Dirmann was a felony prosecutor in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Florida including Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto Counties from 1971 to 1973.  He prosecuted individuals for a wide range of felony crimes during his tenure as a state prosecutor.  Since 1973 Mr. Dirmann has defended accused citizens charged with murder, manslaughter, vehicular homicide, sexual battery, robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, burglary, fraud, drug crimes, DUI, and many other alleged crimes.  Mr. Dirmann has been lead counsel in more than 100 jury trials.

During the course of his career, Mr. Dirmann has been engaged in a number of Sarasota County Bar activities including the Bar Grievance Committee, member of the Sarasota County Bar Board of Directors, Chairman of the Bar Committee on Judicial Evaluation, and has participated in other Bar related activities.  Mr. Dirmann has also been involved in pro bono activity through the Bar including organizing and providing legal services to homeless veterans in cooperation with the local Salvation Army.  Because of his life long concern for veterans, Mr. Dirmann has been an advocate for veterans suffering from Gulf War illnesses.

In 1987 Mr. Dirmann was in the first group of Florida lawyers to be certified by The Florida Bar as possessing special skill and competence to qualify as a Florida Bar Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer.  Mr. Dirmann has been a Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer for more than 21 years.  In order to maintain board certification, a lawyer must keep up with the current law through continuing legal education programs, provide recommendations from lawyers and judges who have observed his trial skills, and otherwise maintain the highest standards of competence and ethics required of a Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer.  There are fewer than 500 Florida Bar Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyers.

Mr. Dirmann has been given the A.V. rating, the highest rating by the peer review publisher, Martindale-Hubbell.  The “A” signifies the highest level of legal ability, while the “V” denotes “very high” adherence to the “professional code of responsibility” in conduct, ethics, reliability, and diligence.  This rating is the result of a structured peer review and is based upon confidential opinions of practicing lawyers and members of the judiciary.  Mr. Dirmann is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers for 2009.

Mr. Dirmann has been named in Florida Super Lawyers for criminal defense in 2006, 2007, and 2008.  Only 5% of Florida’s attorneys have been selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers.  This recognition comes from Mr. Dirmann’s reputation within the practicing Bar, his experience, honors and awards, bar activity, scholarly writings, board certification, verdicts, and settlements.

In 2007 the Sarasota County Bar Association chose Mr. Dirmann to receive the prestigious “James Slater Professionalism Award,” which recognizes attorneys concentrating in the practice of criminal law who exemplify the qualities that made James Slater one of the most respected attorneys in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Florida.    

Mr. Dirmann is a member and past president of the Sarasota-Bradenton Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.  This organization of trial lawyers demands that each member meet strict admission standards including extensive experience in representing clients in jury trials.  There are fewer than 30 lawyers in the Sarasota-Bradenton Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.  This organization of trial lawyers stands for:

1. The preservation of jury trials and effective representation of clients at jury trials;
2. Elevating the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession; and
3. The education and training of trial lawyers by continuing education and the presentation of national seminars titled “Masters in Trial.”
   

Mr. Dirmann continues to enjoy the practice of law as it enables him to use his experience, skill, and knowledge to help people who need a strong and diligent advocate when they are facing criminal accusations or when they are trying to seek justice from our civil courts.