![\"Beat](\"https:\/\/www.abajournal.com\/images\/main_images\/Drew_Findling_press_conference.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nFindling did not begin his professional journey as an attorney to the stars. A native of Long Island, New York, he initially relocated to Georgia after earning a running scholarship to Oglethorpe University. He subsequently pursued his legal education at Emory University School of Law, graduating with his J.D. in 1984. <\/p>\n
His formative 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 fundamental philosophy on advocacy. Working in the public defender’s office taught him the critical importance of truly understanding his clients, a process that frequently required getting to know their families and personal backgrounds just as well. <\/p>\n
"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."<\/p>\n
After leaving public service, Findling established his own private practice in 1987. Over the decades, the Findling Law Firm has expanded into a tight-knit team of five attorneys predominantly handling complex criminal cases in both state and federal courts. While the vast majority of his clients are everyday citizens rather than international celebrities, his high-profile criminal defense work for musicians frequently thrusts him into the national spotlight. Through these experiences, Findling says he has repeatedly witnessed instances of implicit bias and institutional racism within the justice system.<\/p>\n
Representing individuals embedded in the rap and hip-hop community serves as a glaring "microcosm of the challenges we have in our society," he notes. <\/p>\n
"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,’" Findling says.<\/p>\n
This systemic bias often extends directly into the courtroom, particularly when prosecutors attempt to weaponize a rapper\u2019s artistic lyrics as direct evidence of criminal conduct in ongoing legal proceedings, according to Findling. <\/p>\n
"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."<\/p>\n
The tension surrounding artistic expression and criminal trials played out vividly during the Lil Durk proceedings, where the presiding judge ultimately permitted prosecutors to introduce the music video for the rapper\u2019s 2021 single, "Pissed Me Off," while choosing to exclude specific lyrics from his 2022 track, "Hanging With Wolves."<\/p>\n Marissa Goldberg, Findling\u2019s law partner, attributes his enduring success in the courtroom to his exceptional ability to forge genuine human connections, whether he is sitting across from a stressed client or addressing members of a jury. Beyond legal strategy, Goldberg notes that Findling frequently provides personal life advice to the individuals he represents and maintains supportive relationships with them long after their legal battles have concluded.<\/p>\n Findling "will pick up for somebody at three in the morning every time. He\u2019s always there," Goldberg says.<\/p>\n That tireless dedication resonates deeply with former clients like Josh Clark, who faced severe federal charges including money laundering and wire fraud. A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ultimately found Clark not guilty in 2023. <\/p>\n "My life would have been over if it weren’t for him," Clark shares. "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."<\/p>\n As Seen on TV<\/strong><\/p>\n Findling\u2019s high-profile career and colorful roster of clients have also captured the attention of the entertainment industry. Another prominent music icon\u2014Curtis Jackson, widely known as the rapper 50 Cent\u2014purchased the rights to a scripted television series inspired by Findling\u2019s legal career, a project that is currently in development. As a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Findling is quick to clarify that the upcoming television show based loosely on his professional life will be thoroughly fictionalized for dramatic purposes.<\/p>\n "I\u2019m happily married and a dedicated father," Findling notes with a laugh. "Not one person would watch a TV show about that."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For nearly four decades, renowned Atlanta defense attorney Drew Findling built a formidable legal practice almost entirely on word of mouth. In fact, until just three months ago, the veteran lawyer did not even have a dedicated website. Known widely for representing high-profile figures, including top hip-hop artists like Lil Durk, Waka Flocka Flame, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":2568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[1452,17,2174,3173,3175,1271,3174,1572,643,15,18,782,3176,16,2195,190],"class_list":["post-2569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-and-regulatory-news","tag-attorney","tag-compliance","tag-defense","tag-drew","tag-fighting","tag-figures","tag-findling","tag-high","tag-inside","tag-legal","tag-policy","tag-profile","tag-rappers","tag-regulatory","tag-stakes","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amercanfirstfinance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Beat](\"https:\/\/www.abajournal.com\/images\/main_images\/Drew_Findling_and_Gucci_Mane.jpg\")
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