David Villa

In over your head? Who is going to defend you?

Like many people who find themselves ensnared in the criminal justice system, I have been both doubted and bullied in life. That experience has put a chip on my shoulder and now few things give more satisfaction than proving a doubter wrong or knocking a bully down a peg.

Prior to coming to Ruane Attorneys I was a prosecutor in the mid-coast of Maine, where I resolved hundreds of criminal cases by negotiated plea agreement, bench, and jury trial. As a prosecutor, I embraced my role as an “ambassador of justice” and sought restorative solutions. While my methods and decisions were sometimes questioned by law enforcement, I put the pursuit of justice before mere criminal convictions.

While being a prosecutor gave me a tremendous insight into criminal procedure and investigation methods, I recognized that the State, with all its power and resources isn’t the party in the criminal justice system where I belong. Instead, my place is with the underdogs, the doubted, the accused.

Despite being a nontraditional law student, I captured a variety of academic awards, was named the top student in several classes, was a negotiation champion, and graduated in the top third of my class. I frequently represented UConn Law in legal competitions against other law schools including negotiation and mock trial. My focus on criminal law drove me to find opportunities to work on active Connecticut cases in live courtrooms, specifically working with criminal defendants in Connecticut’s Superior Courts for the UConn Law Criminal Clinic. Likewise, in the UConn Law Animal Clinic, I appeared in Connecticut’s Superior Courts as an animal advocate, making arguments for and against the use of diversionary programs in animal cruelty cases. I also was an intern in the Stamford/Norwalk State’s Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Haven. I’m no stranger to Connecticut’s criminal courtrooms. 

In a life before law school I had a military career, deploying to both Afghanistan and Iraq and making dozens of parachute “jumps” with the historic 82^nd Airborne Division. I’m not afraid of a fight, if I have to go to war on a case it won’t be the first war I’ve been to.

After my active-duty service, I was involuntarily recalled and “stop-lossed” while deployed to Iraq a second time. I know what it is like when the government has a grip on your life.

I’m a born contrarian and battle tested competitor, with an ingrained sense of how prosecutors operate. Trust me to stand between you and the power of the state.