DIRECTORY OF STAFF

Penelope Dawes- Law Clerk

Ms. Dawes assists Attorney Villanueva with general office management, accounts and billing, drafting pleadings and documents and legal research. Ms. Dawes is a second year law student at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia.

Danielle Buckalew-Law Clerk

Ms. Buckalew assists Attorney Villanueva with general office management, accounts and billing, drafting pleadings and documents and legal research. Ms. Buckalew is a second year law student at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia and has worked for a major personal injury law firm in Atlanta.

Sabrina Bateman-Paralegal

 Mrs. Bateman assists Attorney Villaneuva with drafting pleadings and documents and client scheduling. Mrs. Bateman is currently attending paralegal classes at Gwinnett College.

Andre Odom Baltazar-Lorenzo-Managing Paralegal and Office Manager

Mr. Lorenzo assists Attorney Villaneuva with office management, accounts-billing, drafting pleadings and documents, client scheduling and legal research. Mr. Lorenzo is studying law at Georgia State University College of Law. Mr. Lorenzo is a duly appointed Notary for Fulton County

ATTORNEYS 

Rachel Krauss Smith, Esq. - Of Counsel

BA Government, Smith College 1997 Deans List, JD, University of Georgia School of Law, 2002

Ms. Smith is admitted to practice in the State of Georgia and the District of Columbia. She was fromerly a Legislative Advocate for the National Guard child Care Program in Reston Virginia.

Derick C. Villanueva, Esq-Principal/Owner 

Mr. Villanueva graduated from Emory University, Magna Cum Laude in 2000 majoring in Political Science and minoring in Economics. Mr. Villanueva attended Syracuse University College of Law and obtained his juris doctor and masters in Economics from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2003. While at Syracuse Law,  Mr. Villanueva had worked as an assistant to the Commercial Real Estate Practice Group at Pyramid Managment Group, Inc. in Syracuse, New York. Mr. Villanueva was an Associate Editor of the Syracuse Law and Technology Journal and member of the Corporate Counsel Certificate Program as well as the Law and Market Economy Program.

Mr. Villanueva is  former judicial law clerk to the Honorable Diane J. Larsen of the Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, Illinois.

Mr. Villanueva practiced residential and commercial real estate, corporate law and bankruptcy and was previously employed by Krevolin & Horst, LLC, The Moss Law Firm, LLC and The Johnson Law Group ALG (Of Counsel) prior to opening his practice in 2007.

Mr. Villaneuva resides in Atlanta, Georgia and is a legal instructor at Gwinnett College where he continues to teach bankruptcy and family law. Mr. Villanueva is a probono volunteer Attorney with the Georgia Legal Services Program Piedmont Division in Atlanta as well as a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Sandy Springs Bar Association, Gwinnett County Bar Association, the Syracuse Alumni Association of Atlanta and the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Assocation.

Mr. Villanueva was born in 1977 in Agana, Guam (U.S. Territory) and is proud son of Chief Petty Officer Ricardo P. Villanueva United States Navy (deceased) and Nelly C. Villanueva, US Veterans Administration Registered Nurse and proud brother of Gigi Lynn Estrada Registered Nurse. 

Mr. Villanueva enjoys playing guitar, singing, reading, volunteering, running and painting. Mr. Villanueva is member-manager of Villanueva Capital, LLC, a real estate holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Villanueva is currently a candidate as a direct commission officer for The United States Navy Reserve Supply Chain Corps. at the Naval Operations Support Center in Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Georgia.

CREDENTIALS

Teaching Positions

• Legal Instructor for Gwinnett College, (Lilburn, GA) 

Education

• BA, Emory University, Political Science/Economics Magna Cum Laude (2000)
• JD, Syracuse University College of Law (2003) Executive Editor, Syracuse Law and Technology Journal, Corporate Counsel and Law and Market Economy Award Recipient
• MA, Economics, Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (2003)

Published Works

• The Effect of Poland's Bankruptcy Law Reforms in Phasing Out or Restructuring State-Owned Enterprises: Can Bankrupcy Law Reforms Facilitate an Efficient Market for Local Public Services? (April 8, 2003 Global Affairs Institute Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs)  http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/dev/sym/pdfs/007004DVillanueva.pdf

Awards/Recognition

• Ethics and Professional Responsibility Orientation Volunteer for John Marshall Law School (Atlanta, GA) (2007)(2009)
• The Pro Bono Project Awards Recipient of the State Bar of Georgia (2007)(2008)(2009)

Clerkships

• Cook County Circuit Court, Judge Diane Larsen Judicial Extern Chicago, Illinois

Bar Memberships

• Georgia Supreme Court
• Georgia Court of Appeals
• US District Court Northern District of Georgia
• US Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Georgia
• US Immigration Court/ Board of Immigration Appeals

Previous Employment

• The Johnson Law Group, ALG (Atlanta, GA)
• The Moss Law Firm, LLC (Atlanta, GA)
• Southstar Funding, LLC (Atlanta, GA)
• Krevolin & Horst, LLC (Atlanta, GA)
• Cook County Circuit Court, Law Division (Chicago, IL)
• Pyramid Management Group, Inc. (Syracuse, NY)

Military Employment

• United States Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency GS-13
• Direct Commission Officer Candidate for the United States Navy Reserve Supply Corps at the Naval Operations Support Center at Dobbins AFB, Marietta, Georgia. 

Associations/Memberships

• State Bar of Georgia
• Atlanta Bar Association
• National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) 
• Gwinnett County Bar Association
• Georgia Legal Services Program 
• Syracuse University Alumni Association of Atlanta
• Sandy Springs Bar Association
• Filipino American Association of Greater Atlanta

Samuel (Apricot Poodle) aka the Law Firm Mascot