Today we’d like to introduce you to Valentina Villalobos.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I went to law school at FSU. While I was there I interned for the Public Interest Law Center, for the Children’s Advocacy Clinic, under a really great professor, Professor Paulo Annino. That is where I first began working with and representing children in the dependency system (meaning DCF/foster care world) and started gaining a passion for it. After law school I worked as an attorney for the Guardian ad Litem Program (GAL), first in Tallahassee and then in Tampa. The Guardian ad Litem is tasked with representing the best interest of children. Having grown up in Palm Harbor, it was nice to return to the Tampa Bay area and be close to family. I have much younger siblings and I was excited to come back home and be around for their growing up.
After about five years with GAL I went to work for a nonprofit for a few years representing victims of sexual assault. In 2020 (just before the pandemic, great timing!) I went into private practice, first with a partner and this year I opened up my own firm. Private practice has afforded me a lot of flexibility to advocate for what’s right while not having to play politics. I don’t have to care about whether I’m going to “offend” other dependency players, I only have to focus on doing what’s best for my client. In the past for example, I would have to “go up the chain” and get permission to seek sanctions from other parties such as the Department (DCF) when they were clearly violating the law, and I would be blocked from doing so. Now, I don’t have to ask for anyone’s permission. Because of the pandemic, all hearings went virtual and this afforded me the opportunity to take cases around the state. It has really expanded my experience and expertise, being exposed to how everyone performs, which can vary vastly throughout the state. I still get to take cases across the state because most courts still allow for the bulk of hearings to be conducted remotely these days.
I really enjoy helping families get reunited, whenever safely possible. Having worked on the other side of things, I did not realize how poorly parents are often treated, and unjustifiably so. I love when I can help a parent get reunited with their children or even save them from having their rights terminated. I also frequently represent family members who are trying to get their relative children out of the system as opposed to placed with non relative foster parents. I think that is a very important issue, keeping families together shouldn’t be just a slogan of the Department (which it was in the past), it needs to be reality.
I also represent kids directly as a court appointed attorney for them, known as an attorney ad litem.
And finally, one thing I’ve gotten to do since being in private practice (again, not having to worry about politics), is that I’ve been able to bring lawsuits on behalf of children who have been hurt in care. I have a great mentor, Karen Gievers, who is a retired former dependency judge and she helped teach me the ropes for handling these types of cases. Karen was actually the first judge I practiced before when I first started as an attorney for GAL in Tallahassee. I’m grateful that I am in a position where I can help those kids hopefully get a better start in their adult life, and I also hope that I’m influencing positive change within the dependency system by doing so and holding various dependency actors accountable.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing in dependency is ever smooth! It is not uncommon for a day to get completely derailed putting out a fire for a client. There’s also a lot of heartache and stress that comes with this kind of work- people’s lives, family’s lives, are often in my hands and I have to be willing and able to pull out all the stops to help them. Because of that, one thing I have always struggled with is trying not to take my work home with me. It’s pretty much impossible, but I am doing my best.
The other thing that has been a struggle is just running my own business. That was not something I ever really planned to do, but when the opportunity came up to go into practice with a partner it just kind of happened. Being a business owner is probably my least favorite part of what I do, but the tradeoff for the freedom of being my own boss and the flexibility that comes with it is worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Elite Child Advocacy?
My law firm is Elite Child Advocacy. I specialize in all things related to child abuse. So I represent parents trying to get their kids back, family members trying to get children placed with them, and I represent children both with current open cases with DCF and those who’s cases are closed but who suffered harm in care.
I think I have a reputation that both my colleagues and clients would agree with, which is that I am a zealous advocate for my clients. I work really hard (probably to the extent I drive some opposing counsels crazy) and am very knowledgeable at what I do. What I am probably most proud of is the fact that I obtained board certification status in juvenile law back in 2018. That certification first became available roughly a decade ago, and those who had about 20 years of experience could “grandfather” in. I obviously wasn’t eligible so I had to take the test, which I describe as a mini bar exam, and meet the rest of the requirements for the application as well, which included having a substantial amount of trials under my belt. I just recently had to renew my status, which included the requirement to continue to have a lot of trials and get recommendations from judges and colleagues. Roughly only 5% of attorneys in the state have board certification status, so that’s an accomplishment I’m really proud of.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always up for any advocacy that can effect change on a larger scale. There is also strength in numbers. Last year I was able to participate in efforts to create legislation that would afford parents the right to a second opinion when they are accused by Department doctors of abuse. That was a really great experience, and we got together a great group that had been through it and went to testify before the Legislature. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting to do it again this year!
I also am happy to provide support to other attorneys, parents, or advocates just in the form of education and giving them ideas and possible resources.
Pricing:
- would rather not publish my pricing, it varies from case to case
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elitechildadvocacy.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Elite-Child-Advocacy-PLLC-61573767063351/
Image Credits
NA- all taken on my phone
