Yonette Buchanan
Yonette has extensive experience handling complex, high-profile matters in federal and state courts. Her experience includes 10 years as an Assistant United States attorney during which she litigated cases involving civil rights violations, public corruption, immigration fraud, RICO conspiracy, and numerous other violations of federal law. While serving as chief of the Terrorism and Violent Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney's office, she supervised the investigation, litigation and trial of matters involving domestic terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking, crimes against children, and other criminal violations. Yonette also served as Chair of the Hiring Committee.
Over the course of her legal career, Yonette has tried a significant number of cases both as a prosecutor and as defense counsel, directed numerous grand jury investigations, and conducted hundreds of evidentiary hearings. She also has substantial federal appellate experience including successful oral arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Yonette has received awards from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. She has received several Special Achievement Awards for Sustained Superior Performance from the Department of Justice and in 2003, she was recognized by the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia as the advocate of the year. In 2007, Yonette received an award from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for her work in a high-profile civil rights and public corruption case.
Yonette received her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from City College of New York in 1987 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1990. She is admitted to practice in the states of Georgia and New York as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Professional Organizations and Membership
- American Bar Association
- Atlanta Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute - Member of the Diversity Committee
- Gate City Bar Association
- Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys
- Georgia Association of Women Lawyers
- National Bar Association