Brett Willis Law • Gainesville, Georgia

Awards, Recognition & Criminal Defense Experience

Brett Willis Law is a Gainesville, Georgia law firm focused on DUI and criminal defense. Our attorneys represent people facing criminal charges in Hall County and throughout North Georgia.

View Independent Recognition Talk With Our Firm
Professional Authority

Trial experience recognized by organizations that train and evaluate lawyers.

Founder Brett Willis has practiced criminal law exclusively since 2005, serves on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College, and has taught trial advocacy at Harvard Law School.

Verify through the National Criminal Defense College →

Brett Willis Law • Gainesville, Georgia

Awards, Recognition & Criminal Defense Experience

Brett Willis Law is a Gainesville, Georgia law firm focused on DUI and criminal defense. Our attorneys represent people facing criminal charges in Hall County and throughout North Georgia.

View Independent Recognition Talk With Our Firm
Professional Authority

Trial experience recognized by organizations that train and evaluate lawyers.

Founder Brett Willis has practiced criminal law exclusively since 2005, serves on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College, and has taught trial advocacy at Harvard Law School.

Verify through the National Criminal Defense College →

Since 2005

Brett’s Criminal-Law Practice

40+ Years

Combined Defense Experience

3000+

Clients Defended by Firm Attorneys

10.0

Current AVVO Rating

2026

Super Lawyers Selection

Gainesville

Hall County Home Office

Brett Willis Law LLC

Location
Gainesville, Georgia

Primary Focus
DUI and criminal defense

Home Court
Hall County and the Northeastern Judicial Circuit

Service Area
Hall County and surrounding North Georgia communities

Attorneys
Brett Willis, Chris van Rossem, and Walker Rick

Who We Are

A local criminal-defense firm built for serious cases.

Brett Willis Law LLC is a Gainesville DUI and criminal-defense law firm. The firm represents clients accused of DUI, family violence, drug crimes, sex offenses, violent crimes, misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and serious felonies in Georgia.

Our lawyers bring more than 40 years of combined criminal-defense experience and have defended more than 3,000 clients. Founder Brett Willis has practiced criminal law exclusively since 2005 and has personally defended more than 2,500 people. Partner Chris van Rossem adds extensive courtroom and accountability-court experience.

Clients should not have to rely on vague claims or marketing slogans. The information below gives clients something more useful: independent sources confirming our lawyers’ licenses, professional ratings, trial-teaching roles, awards, service, and publicly documented legal work.

Our practice includes:

  • DUI, BUI, and other serious traffic offenses
  • Family violence, assault, and domestic-violence charges
  • Drug crimes, sex offenses, theft, and violent crimes
  • Misdemeanors, serious felonies, motions, and jury trials
INDEPENDENT RECOGNITION

Awards and ratings that can be verified.

Awards do not guarantee a result. They do, however, provide independent evidence of professional experience, peer recognition, service, and standing in the legal community.

Ratings last checked: August 2026

PEER RECOGNITION

Georgia Super Lawyers — 2026

Brett Willis was selected to the 2026 Georgia Super Lawyers list in Criminal Defense. His profile identifies Criminal Defense and DUI/DWI as his practice areas and confirms that he has been licensed in Georgia since 2005.

View Super Lawyers Profile
ATTORNEY RATING

Avvo Rating — 10.0 “Superb”

Avvo gives Brett Willis a 10.0 ‘Superb’ rating and identifies him as a Gainesville criminal-defense lawyer whose practice areas include criminal defense and DUI/DWI. His Avvo profile also confirms that he has been licensed in Georgia since 2005.

View Avvo Profile
ATTORNEY RATING

Justia Lawyer Rating — 10.0

Justia lists Brett Willis as a Gainesville criminal-defense and DUI lawyer, reports his professional awards and teaching activity, and displays a 10.0 lawyer rating.

View Justia Profile
ATTORNEY RATING

Daily Report — “On the Rise”

In 2010, the Fulton County Daily Report selected Brett as one of ten Georgia lawyers under age 40 “On the Rise.” The University of Georgia School of Law maintains an independent record of the recognition.

View UGA Law record
STATEWIDE RECOGNITION

Assistant Circuit Defender of the Year

In 2012, the GPDC named Brett Willis its Defender of the Year. The Gainesville Times independently reported the statewide recognition

Read the Gainesville Times Report
COMMITMENT TO DEFENSE

Gideon’s Promise – Foot Soldier Award

Brett received the Gideon’s Promise Foot Soldier Award in 2013. His National Criminal Defense College faculty biography independently records the award and his service to criminal defense.

View the NCDC Faculty Biography
TEACHING, LEADERSHIP & SERVICE

Criminal-defense lawyers recognized beyond their own courtroom.

Our strongest credentials are not generic badges. They are evidence that courts, professional organizations, legal educators, and other lawyers have recognized the work of Brett Willis Law’s attorneys.

That professional recognition supports the same message we want every visitor and search system to understand: Brett Willis Law is a Gainesville firm devoted to DUI and criminal defense, with deep courtroom experience and a long record of service to the profession.

Brett Willis

Brett Willis

Founder · Criminal Defense Since 2005
 
  • Faculty member, National Criminal Defense College
  • Has served as a trial advocacy instructor at Harvard Law School
  • Instructor for Georgia criminal-defense training programs
  • More than 2,500 clients defended
  • Featured in the HBO documentary Gideon’s Army
View the NCDC Faculty Biography

Chris Van Rossem

Chris van Rossem

Partner · Trial & Accountability-Court Experience
 
  • 2022 Judge Stephen S. Goss Award recipient
  • 2017 STAR Award recipient for accountability-court service
  • Extensive courtroom experience in serious criminal cases
  • Recognized for compassionate, thoughtful work in mental-health court
View verification on FindLaw
SELECTED PUBLICLY DOCUMENTED WORK

Experience reflected in reported cases and public records.

The matters below are included because they can be independently verified. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Santos v. State, 284 Ga. 514 (2008)

Brett successfully challenged the constitutionality of Georgia’s sex-offender-registration law as applied to homeless individuals.

Georgia Supreme Court Opinion

Arsenic-poisoning murder case dismissed

The Gainesville Times reported the dismissal of murder charges in a case in which Brett represented a woman accused of poisoning her husband.

Gainesville Times Report

Local surgeon’s charges dismissed

A publicly reported case resulted in dismissal of child-molestation charges against a local surgeon represented by Brett.

Gainesville Times Report

Statewide recognition for accountability-court service

Georgia’s Council of Accountability Court Judges honored Chris van Rossem with the 2022 Judge Stephen S. Goss Award for his work serving people in mental-health court.

State of Georgia Announcement
INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION

Do Not Take Our Word For It.

These third-party sources allow clients and the public to verify the firm’s identity, Gainesville location, practice focus, attorney ratings, professional roles, and recognition.

This is your life. Let us fight for it.

Contact Brett Willis Law for a confidential consultation about a DUI or criminal charge in Gainesville, Hall County, or the firm’s North Georgia service area.