John E. Buffaloe, Jr.
John Buffaloe, Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee and attended public schools. He graduated from the University of Tennessee where he received a B. A. Degree in 1964. He obtained his J. D. Degree from the UT College of Law in 1968.
In 1969 and 1970 he served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Ross Dyer of the Tennessee Supreme court. After concluding his clerkship, he entered private practice eventually forming the association of Loewenstein, Ziegler and Buffaloe in 1977.The firm placed special emphasis on commercial transactions, debtor-creditor relationships and bankruptcy primarily representing creditors. From 1973 until 1979, Mr. Buffaloe served as a Bankruptcy Trustee in the Middle District of Tennessee.
The firm evolved and on January 1, 2010 it assumed its present form and became Buffaloe & Vallejo, PLC Mr. Buffaloe became the first president and is now President-Emeritus.
Mr. Buffaloe is a member of the ABA, TBA, and the Nashville Bar Association (NBA). He has chaired NBA committees for bankruptcy, federal courts and General Sessions Court. He served on the NBA Board of Directors from 1985 to 1987. He is also a member of the Commercial Law League of America and was a founding member of National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys. He has lectured to bar groups and client associations on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, collections, lien laws and FDCPA.
Mr. Buffaloe was licensed to practice in Tennessee in 1969. Subsequently, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Middle, Western and Eastern Districts of Tennessee.
Joel A. Vallejo
Joel A. Vallejo, is the President of Buffaloe & Vallejo, PLC He was born in the Philippines but grew up in Tullahoma, TN. Joel is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s degree in English. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, College of Law in 1996. Prior to joining Buffaloe & Vallejo, PLC, Joel practiced law with Lowe & Baron in the areas of personal injury, consumer collections, bankruptcy and foreclosure. Joel joined Buffaloe & Associates in 1999 and has remained with the firm, practicing in the areas of consumer and commercial collections in nearly all 95 counties in the state of Tennessee. He has taught several seminars on the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and collecting judgments in Tennessee.
In 2007, Joel was named Best of the Bar for collections practice by his peers in the legal and business communities. In 2013, he was appointed as the Chief Compliance Officer and FDCPA attorney for Buffaloe & Vallejo, PLC In 2014, he was also named the Vice President of the firm. He is an active member of the Nashville Bar Association and served as the Committee Chair for the General Sessions Committee in 2013. Joel is also a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys.
Since 2008, Joel has run 5 marathons, including Nashville’s Country Music Marathon twice as well as 9 half-marathons. Joel has competed in several obstacle course races and has recently started competitive shooting.