By Amanda Beam
October 22, 2026

For nearly four decades, renowned Atlanta criminal defense attorney Drew Findling built a legendary career relying almost exclusively on word-of-mouth recommendations. In fact, until just three months ago, the high-profile litigator did not even have a professional website. Known widely across the legal community and the entertainment industry for representing a roster of high-profile hip-hop artists—including Lil Durk and Waka Flocka Flame—Findling has deliberately operated without the backing of a traditional public relations firm. Instead, he manages his public footprint alongside his son, Zack Findling, an attorney at the Findling Law Firm, who helps run an Instagram account boasting approximately 322,000 followers.

The firm’s recent creation of a professional landing page—complete with attorney biographies, an online contact form, and a high-energy sizzle reel of news clips set to instrumental music—was born out of necessity rather than a sudden desire for self-promotion. Following his latest wave of high-publicity trials, Findling wanted to ensure that his assistant wouldn’t be overwhelmed by an unmanageable cascade of phone calls and messages.

Visitors to the Findling Law Firm’s website are greeted by a familiar voice attesting to the attorney’s reputation. "Drew, that guy, man. If you get in trouble, call Drew," says a recorded voice clip belonging to Juaquin Malphurs, better known to the music world as the rapper Waka Flocka Flame.

Despite his deep ties to the hip-hop community, Findling maintains a strictly professional boundary inside his office walls.

"I call everybody by their regular names. So Lil Baby is Dominique. DaBaby is Jon," Findling says. "We just don’t do that here at the office. We don’t fall into that fanboy type thing."

A History of High-Profile Trials

Findling’s courtroom battles extend far beyond the recording studio and concert stages. He famously represented Waka Flocka Flame on state weapons charges stemming from an airport arrest in 2014, securing a not-guilty verdict from a Georgia state court jury in 2017. Over the course of his extensive career, his diverse client roster has included prominent figures from various spheres of public life, such as rapper Cardi B, professional basketball player Dennis Rodman, and former President Donald Trump.

Findling’s representation of Trump involved a 2021 criminal probe led by the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, which investigated allegations that the former president made efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. However, just hours before Trump was scheduled to surrender at the Fulton County Jail, he replaced Findling as his lead attorney, as reported at the time by The Guardian. That specific prosecution ultimately concluded when the case was dismissed in 2025.

In the music realm, Findling’s legal maneuvering also includes negotiating a favorable plea deal for rapper Radric Davis, professionally known as Gucci Mane, on federal firearms charges. More recently, Findling stepped into the national spotlight representing Chicago drill artist Durk Banks, known as Lil Durk, in a high-stakes federal murder-for-hire case. Federal prosecutors accused the artist of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting fellow rapper Quando Rondo, an incident that culminated in the 2022 fatal shooting of Quando Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson. In September, a federal jury returned not-guilty verdicts on all counts against Lil Durk. Findling shared defense duties in the matter alongside Bryan Steel, another prominent defense attorney celebrated for representing major hip-hop acts. Findling continues to represent Lil Durk as he faces an upcoming federal racketeering case.

A Southern Transplant rooted in Public Defense

Findling’s journey to becoming one of the most sought-after defense attorneys for cultural icons did not begin in the entertainment capitals of Los Angeles or New York. Growing up on Long Island, New York, he eventually relocated to Georgia after receiving a running scholarship to attend Oglethorpe University. He went on to earn his Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law in 1984.

His foundational years in the legal profession were spent serving as a public defender in Fulton County, Georgia, a three-year stint that he credits with shaping his entire philosophy on criminal defense. Findling notes that the demanding role taught him the critical importance of deeply understanding his clients—a process that frequently involved getting to know their families and personal backgrounds.

"To be the greatest trial attorney, you have to understand where your client is coming from," Findling reflects. "You can’t fight for somebody’s freedom if you don’t understand what their freedom is."

After leaving the public defender’s office, Findling launched his own private practice in 1987. Today, the Findling Law Firm has expanded to a team of five attorneys who primarily handle criminal defense cases across both state and federal courts. While the vast majority of his clients are everyday citizens rather than international celebrities, his work representing high-profile individuals has provided him with an unfiltered view of systemic issues within the American justice system, including instances of implicit bias and institutional racism.

Representing artists within the rap genre, Findling observes, serves as a direct "microcosm of the challenges we have in our society."

"Nobody has a case where they bring a client in who’s involved in country music or pop music or opera or whatever it is, and immediately goes, ‘You know, I’m going to look at them through a suspicious lens,’" he notes.

This systemic skepticism often manifests inside the courtroom, according to Findling, particularly when prosecutors attempt to weaponize an artist’s creative output against them. The practice of introducing rap lyrics as criminal evidence remains a contentious battleground in modern trials.

"If there’s some kind of potential case, you then have law enforcement and prosecutors who don’t know the first thing about the industry, who don’t talk to one person in the industry, say, ‘Hmm, let’s look at these and cherry-pick out something that could be used as evidence,’" Findling explains. "That’s incredibly unfair. And we’re seeing in cases that it backfires."

This dynamic played out tangibly during the Lil Durk trial, where the presiding judge permitted prosecutors to show the official music video for the rapper’s 2021 single "Pissed Me Off," while ultimately choosing to exclude specific lyrics from his 2022 track "Hanging With Wolves."

Marissa Goldberg, a law partner at the Findling Law Firm, attributes the firm’s enduring success to Findling’s unique capacity to forge genuine connections with people, whether they are navigating the terrifying prospect of a federal trial or serving as jurors in a box. Beyond standard legal representation, Goldberg notes that Findling routinely offers personal mentorship and life advice to those he represents, maintaining supportive relationships long after their legal battles have concluded.

Findling "will pick up for somebody at three in the morning every time. He’s always there," Goldberg says.

This hands-on dedication resonates deeply with former clients, such as Josh Clark. Charged with federal money laundering and wire fraud, Clark was acquitted by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2023.

"My life would have been over if it weren’t for him," Clark says. "It’s like a laser focus, and I don’t know how he does it because I know he’s juggling different cases, but you feel like you’re the only person in Drew’s world when you’re going through it."

Transition to Entertainment

Findling’s colorful career and high-stakes courtroom victories have even captured the attention of Hollywood and the television industry. Curtis Jackson, the multifaceted entertainment mogul and rapper known professionally as 50 Cent, purchased a scripted television series inspired by Findling’s legal career, which is currently in development.

As a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Findling is quick to clarify that any upcoming television project drawing inspiration from his professional life remains firmly in the realm of fiction.

"I’m happily married and a dedicated father," Findling says with a smile. "Not one person would watch a TV show about that."