Washington, DC (August 25, 2014) – Atlanta Attorney Drew Findling was sworn in as Secretary of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association’s 57th annual meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 2.
Findling’s practice, The Findling Law Firm, P.C., focuses exclusively on federal and state criminal defense and he tries cases ranging from matters involving complex white collar crimes to serious violent felonies. Findling spent the first three years of his career as a Fulton County, Georgia public defender. Over the past 30 years, he has represented clients in state and federal courts across the country, including Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, as well as in international matters. As a public defender, he was at the forefront of developing the Battered Woman Syndrome defense. Nationally, Findling was the first attorney to successfully employ that defense based exclusively on verbal abuse. For his efforts, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers awarded him their Indigent Defense Award. In recent years he has successfully represented a string of well known clients including Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O’Neal, Grammy Award Nominee Faith Evans, actor/comedian Mike Epps, rap superstar Gucci Mane, Morris Brown College President Dolores Cross, and Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett. Most recently, in the highly publicized public corruption jury trial of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff Victor Hill, Findling secured an acquittal of all charges in the 37 count indictment. For his effort on behalf of Sheriff Hill, Findling received the NAACP’s Civil and Human Rights Award and an commendation by the Legislative Black Caucus of Georgia.
In his nearly 30 years of practice, Findling has published numerous articles and given speeches in 35 different states on such topics as defending battered woman syndrome cases, jury selection in high profile cases, forensic preparation for a criminal trial, effective opening statements and closing arguments, and cross-examination. He has lectured at Emory Law School, Georgia State University College of Law and the University of Georgia Law School. He has been on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College since 1989 and also teaches at NACDL’s Stetson University White Collar Criminal Defense College and Tulane University Law School’s Pre Trial Criminal Litigation Boot Camp. Respected for his legal analysis and trial abilities, Findling is also regularly invited by Fox’s Shepard Smith and CNN’s Brook Baldwin to serve as a legal analyst on their respective national television programs. He is also the exclusive legal analyst for Cumulus’ Atlanta News Radio 106.7.
Findling is a member of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Bar Association. Findling also serves on the Board of Advisors for the prestigious National Clearing House on Science and Technology of Law. He has been named as one of Georgia’s Legal Elite in Georgia Trend Magazine, Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Top Lawyers in Georgia and as a Georgia “Super Lawyer” by Atlanta Magazine. He was the co-author for the DOJ Research Report, Crime Scene Investigation, a Guide for Law Enforcement.
Findling is an NACDL Life Member, who joined the Association 1988 and has served multiple terms on the Board of Directors. His commitment to NACDL includes service as chair of the Forensic Sciences Committee, chair of the Membership Committee, and as co-chair of the Discovery Reform Committee. He also served as a member of NACDL’s Nominating Committee and NACDL’s National Forensics Litigation College Advisory Board.
Findling is a 1981 graduate of Oglethorpe University and a 1984 graduate of the Emory University School of Law. He is married with three children.
Contacts
Ivan Dominguez, NACDL Senior Director of Public Affairs and Communications, (202) 465-7662 or idominguez@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.