Drew Findling (born December 21, 1959) is an American

criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the Defense (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...

known for trying cases in state and federal courts across the country ranging from complex white-collar crimes to serious violent felonies, representing clients who are

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

musicians,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

stars,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winners, and elected officials, as well as other well-known clients, including

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. Based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, he is the founding partner of The Findling Law Firm, P.C.

Early life and education

Findling grew up in the blue–collar hamlet of

Coram, New York Coram is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States cen ...

, raised by a single mother who was a grocery store cashier. He was awarded a track scholarship to study at

Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brookhaven, Georgia, United States. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder ...

, earning a BA degree in 1981. He then earned a JD degree from the

Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University, a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the American Association of Law ...

in 1984.

Career

Findling was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1984 and spent the first three years of his career as a Fulton County public defender during which time he was the first attorney in the nation to successfully present a battered woman syndrome defense, including on 27 felony counts, based only on verbal abuse. He was awarded the Indigent Defense Award by Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL). In 2018, Findling was a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, participating in a one-on-one interview with journalist Joshua Johnson on "Hip Hop Collision: Music, Race and The Law." During 2018–2019, Findling was president of the

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization. Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and def ...

(NACDL). In 2023, he was appointed as a trustee of the NACDL Foundation for Criminal Justice, and appointed to Board of Advisors for the

National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law The National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law at Stetson University College of Law is an organization that provides information sharing and professional development to forensic scientists, lawyers, judges, other legal professionals ...

. In 2022, former U.S. President

hired Findling to represent him in the ongoing criminal investigation into election interference in Georgia. In 2023, Findling was replaced by

Steven Sadow Steven H. Sadow is an American criminal defense attorney. He is the lead counsel for Donald Trump during his Georgia election racketeering prosecution. Education and personal life Sadow graduated from Marietta College in 1976 before obtaining ...

. Findling doesn't "...choose cases or not take cases because of the race of our client, the ethnicity of our client, the sexual orientation of our client, the substantive charge of the client, the political views of the client.”

Awards

*In 2018, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' named Findling one of "Hollywood's Top 20 Troubleshooters". *In 2018, he was recognized as one of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s " R&B and

Hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

100 Power Players". *In 2018, he was the recipient of the NACDL's Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award, presented each year to only one criminal defense attorney in the country. *In 2024,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

named Findling to its inaugural list of the Top 200 Lawyers in America. *Findling was presented the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

’s Civil and Human Rights Award. *He was awarded a commendation by the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus.

Personal life

Findling is married to Beth Kaplan Findling, and they have three children, calling himself and them “a family of left-wing liberals.” He has been given the nickname #BillionDollarLawyer, originally conferred by client

Young Dolph Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. (July 27, 1985 – November 17, 2021), better known by his stage name Young Dolph, was an American rapper and record executive. He first garnered mainstream attention for his guest appearance on O.T. Genasis' 2015 sin ...

References

External links

National Criminal Defense College - Drew Findling, Faculty

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Avvo Avvo.com is an American online marketplace for legal services, that provides lawyer referrals and access to a database of legal information consisting primarily of previously answered questions. Lawyer profiles may include client reviews, discipl ...

Drew Findling
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Martindale-Hubbell Martindale-Hubbell is an information services company to the legal profession that was founded in 1868. The company publishes the ''Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory'', which provides background information on lawyers and law firms in the United S ...

Drew Findling - Super Lawyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Findling, Drew 1959 births American criminal defense lawyers Hip-hop activists Living people Lawyers from Atlanta Public defenders Donald Trump attorneys