Atlanta Criminal Lawyers

Tom joined Pate & Johnson in 2017 after graduating with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law.

While in law school, Tom honed his trial advocacy skills competing as a member of the moot court and mock trial teams. He also earned awards for achieving the highest marks in his Torts and Constitutional Law classes.

In his last year of school, Tom served as a research assistant to Professors Dan T. Coenen and Michael Wells, where his work focused on constitutional law, the early history of the U.S. Constitution, and civil rights litigation. Tom was also one of a few...

Experienced criminal trial and appellate attorney and former judge. Over 27 years in practice.

Kalpin’s entire career has been carefully designed to provide you the best representation possible.

As an Assistant Solicitor for over two years, Kalpin handled misdemeanor cases at every stage. While learning the internal techniques of a prosecution process, Kalpin continued earning the respect and building relations with such Judges, other prosecutors, and court administrators.

For his very first client of his career, he obtained a dismissal on all charges. Click here for a narrative from that case. As an indigent defense counsel for Clayton County, he passionately fought for each and every...

Benjamin Von Schuch has a relentless passion to seek justice and help others gain a second chance at life. He fights to protect the rights of men, women and minors accused of misdemeanor and/or felony crimes in and around Atlanta, GA. As a compassionate criminal defense attorney and owner of an Atlanta based law firm, Benjamin Von Schuch aims to give each of his clients the means to a solid defense so they can move on with their lives without the repercussion of a criminal record. Benjamin Von Schuch has made it his priority and mission to help others through...

Attorney Steve Litner moved to Atlanta after graduating law school. He started his legal career in securities litigation, and quickly learned that he enjoyed working with people much more than corporations. “Personal injury law gives me a chance to help clients receive fair treatment in some very traumatic situations where the deck is often stacked against them,” Steve commented. “That’s not possible when you’re only focused on corporate law and business profits.”
Steve has large personal injury firm experience, but wanted more flexibility and control than the big firms offered. He started his own successful firm, and then joined forces with...

Ms. Berry offers aggressive and experienced defense in criminal matters. Ms. Berry has been lead trial counsel in over 100 trials and motions over the past 10 years with great success.

Doug has been practicing law in Georgia for nearly two decades. He graduated from Florida State University’s Law School in 2000, the same university he received his English Literature degree from in 1996. As the son of a Cuban-born mother, Doug speaks fluent Spanish, as does the entire law firm’s staff. As a past member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), Doug works to promote the civic engagement of the Latin American and Hispanic communities. As a frequent commentator on Telemundo Atlanta, he speaks about the impact legal matters have on the...

Willis Law Firm is a highly esteemed Atlanta defense firm that focuses on aggressively defending an assortment of DUI cases in Georgia. Their team possesses more than 230 years of combined experience in the legal field. One of the firm’s partners was selected as Best Lawyers® 2012 “Lawyer of the Entire” for DUI Defense for the Atlanta area. Four of their attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the list of Super Lawyers®. They're available to speak 24 hours a day, so give them a call today at (404) 800-0025 for a free consultation.

Reid Thompson started his own criminal defense law firm in May of 2009 with an emphasis on serious felony offenses. Since March 2010, he has tried ten felony jury trials winning not guilty verdicts in Murder trials in Fulton and Dekalb Counties. Previous experience includes work as an Assistant District Attorney for the Fulton County District Attorney's Office in the Complex Trial Division and at the Douglas County District Attorney's Office. During and after law school, Reid also worked at the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, at the FultonCounty Solicitor's Office, and at the Georgia Justice Project....

A native of Atlanta, Ron Smith earned his J.D. Degree from Nova Southeastern University in 1981 and first practiced law as a state prosecutor in central Florida. Mr. Smith's service to others includes his background as a Certified K-12 Teacher and Undergraduate through Graduate Instructor in several subject areas. Since 1965 he continues to work as a lay minister for various Christian and charitable ministries. His private law practice since 1984 has been an extension of these ministries so as to help people deal with a variety of legal matters. For several years Mr. Smith owned and managed a...

Evan Watson is a criminal defense trial lawyer specializing in DUI, drug, and theft offenses. In his 8 years as a member of the Georgia Bar, Evan has represented hundreds of clients successfully in the Municipal, State and Superior Courts throughout Georgia.

As a former federal prosecutor and a dedicated criminal defense attorney, Attorney Richard Rice fights diligently to safeguard the rights of his clients. As a member of Mensa International, an organization only open to those persons whose IQ is in the top 2% of world’s population, he uses his considerable experience and knowledge of the law to defend his client’s futures

For his dedication, Attorney Richard Rice has been honored to receive numerous accolades, including:
Being named a “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine
Inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® list
An Avvo Rating of 10.0 Superb
Being named one of the Top 100 Trial...

Results-driven and client-oriented, Attorney Brandon Dixon is committed to seeing his clients succeed. Focusing on criminal defense and traffic tickets in Atlanta, Attorney Dixon is exhaustive in his research of each and every case he takes on. His successes have resulted in reduced punishments and dismissed cases for numerous clients who were facing serious penalties for criminal charges. Zealous and aggressive tactics enable him to effectively represent his clients in the courtroom. Attorney Dixon is part of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a member of the State Bar of Georgia. Available 24/7 for a free thirty-minute case...

S. Lamar Gardner, our Firm’s founding and managing partner, was born and raised in Corinth, MS. Lamar obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in Political Science in 2009. In 2012, Lamar obtained a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Public Policy from Clark Atlanta University. Upon graduating from Clark Atlanta, Lamar began working in the non-profit sector. In 2014, however, he was offered admission to Southern University Law Center (SULC) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he obtained his Juris Doctor (Cum Laude)in 2017. While at SULC, Lamar served as the 2016-2017 Editor-in-Chief of the Southern University...

I have years of experience writing appellate briefs. I have written over 40 briefs and litigated over 200 habeas cases. I also have tried many cases including jury and bench trials. I appply this experience when representing my clients. I have an understanding of the justice system from both sides. I will aagressively fight to get my clients' wrongful convictions overturned.

Musa M. Ghanayem, attended Law School at Michigan State University College of Law, where he was a Dean's List member every semester, and a Cum Laude graduate. Musa is licensed to practice in Georgia and New York and has been involved in a variety of areas of Legal Practice. As a 1st year associate Musa was a senior associate in a complex commercial litigation and Qui Tam boutique law firm. After two years as an associate, he realized his passion as an advocate for civil rights, human rights, and the protection of the Constitution. In 2002 Musa joined...

Kate fiercely believes that everyone has the right to a fair trial and an excellent lawyer. She brings an unmatched passion for justice and a discerning academic eye to every case she works on. Beginning her career as a public defender, Kate gained significant experience representing the poor in the State and Superior Courts of Clarke and DeKalb County, Georgia. During her time in public defense, she handled hundreds of cases and spent thousands of hours in the courtroom fighting for her clients. She has argued dozens of pre-trial motions and successfully kept the prosecution from being able to introduce illegally-collected...

THOMAS J. THOMAS Attorney Thomas J. Thomas focuses his practice on representing clients charged with alcohol and drug violations and traffic violations. He graduated cum laude in 1980 from Indiana University’s law school. Since 1993 Mr. Thomas has practiced law in Georgia and is admitted to practice before both the Georgia Court of Appeals and George Supreme Court. He has argued and won several important cases before both the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court including: Spencer v. State, 302 Ga. 133 (2017), Keller v. State, 247 Ga. App. 599 (2001), Keller v. State, 275 Ga. 680 (2002), Fraser...

Sydney received her law degree from the University of Alabama after completing her undergraduate studies at Ole Miss. While at the University of Alabama School of Law, Sydney studied criminal law and criminal defense under the current Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders of New York, and earned top honors for her work in Alabama’s criminal defense clinic. She also served as the Ethics Opinions Editor for Volume 35 of the Journal of the Legal Profession. After graduating from law school, Sydney worked as a Staff Attorney at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Sydney...

As a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, Kevin possesses a very thorough knowledge of the law. Kevin's experience includes representing prominent business clients at a prestigious international law firm. In addition to his business law experience, Kevin has litigated numerous criminal misdemeanor and felony cases, including DUI, drugs, domestic violence and traffic cases. As a trial lawyer, Kevin has successfully attained "Not Guilty" jury verdicts and reductions to lesser charges in front of some of the toughest judges in Georgia. Kevin is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. While in law school, he was a member of the Moot Court Board Managing...

Miles W. Rich, a Cum Laude graduate of Georgia State University's College of Law has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia and Federal Bar and has been serving clients in Metro Atlanta since 1995. Prior to that Miles enjoyed careers in sales and marketing, as well as finance and accounting. Born in Davenport, Iowa in 1951, earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in 1972 and spent the next 9 plus years in the food industry. In 1983, he earned an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Southern Methodist University,and spent the...

State prosecutor for over 11 years; have tried over 100 felony cases, including 2 death penalty cases. As a defense attorney since then, I have specialized in appeals of criminal convictions, achieving a very high reversal rate. Currently actively engaged in a death penalty appeal, awaiting the docketing notice from the Georgia Supreme Court. Criminal law is all that I have done in my career, and I have a passion for the work I do. I also have a deep commitment to my clients. As I tell all of my clients and potential...