About Derek
Derek Samuelson is an attorney who practices in Colorado and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He holds a J.D. from the University of Denver and is admitted to practice in Colorado and in federal courts that include the Tenth Circuit. His career spans public defense work and private practice, and his name appears on the Criminal Justice Act panel for the federal district court.
He earned his law degree at the University of Denver. Early in his career he joined the Colorado State Public Defender’s office in 1999, where he worked as a defense lawyer. Those years in public defense shaped the practical skills he relies on today. In 2009 he founded Samuelson Law, P.C., moving into private practice while continuing to take court appointments.
Over the past decade and more he has served in instructional roles for defender organizations. He has been faculty for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 2011. In 2011 he also participated as faculty in federal grant training for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System and in an advanced capital training seminar run by the Louisiana Public Defender Board.
Samuelson serves on the Criminal Justice Act panel for the United States District Court. That appointment places him on a roster of attorneys eligible to represent indigent defendants in federal criminal cases. He has been listed on the CJA panel since 2010 and on the U.S. District Court roster since that year. Memberships on those lists reflect ongoing federal practice alongside state-level work.
His bar and association memberships span local, state and national groups. He has belonged to the Colorado Bar Association since 1999. He is also a member of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association and the Larimer County Bar Association. Since 2011 he has been a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit bar. He maintains ties to national defender and criminal defense organizations through faculty roles and membership.
He operates Samuelson Law, P.C., where he represents clients in criminal matters in both state and federal courts. He continues to accept appointments through the Criminal Justice Act panel and remains active in training programs for defense lawyers. He currently focuses his practice on criminal defense in Colorado and federal courts.
