Metro Atlanta Criminal Defense Lawyers Serving 23 Counties: Free Consultation

Were you or someone you love arrested or charged with a crime in the Atlanta area? You need a criminal defense law firm that knows the local courts, prosecutors, and judges. Kohn & Yager, LLC practices criminal law only. Our partners bring more than 96 combined years of criminal defense work to every case.

Most of our clients are charged in one of the 23 counties in our metro Atlanta service area. That footprint starts at the downtown Fulton County courtrooms. It runs out to the busy suburban courts in Cherokee, Forsyth, Carroll, Hall, and Athens-Clarke Counties. More than 85 percent of our cases are pending in one of those 23 counties. We also defend clients statewide when a case is filed elsewhere in Georgia.

Maybe you searched for a “best criminal lawyer near me,” a “crime attorney near me,” or a “drug defense lawyer near me.” Either way, you have found a team of skilled criminal attorneys. We are ready to protect your record, your freedom, and your future. Our defense attorneys handle everything from misdemeanor citations to serious felony cases. That includes drug charges, violent crime allegations, theft, DUI, weapons offenses, and white-collar cases.

As a full-service criminal defense law firm, we combine trial-tested courtroom experience with a client-first approach. That means clear updates, honest case reviews, and a hard fight at every hearing. This page explains who we are, what we defend, and how we cover each of the 23 metro Atlanta counties. You can also watch a short video introduction to our Georgia criminal defense law firm before you call.

However You Search, We Are Here to Help

Search habits vary, but the need is the same: fast, reliable help from someone who knows criminal law. Maybe you type “attorney criminal,” “attorney criminal defense,” or just “criminal defense” into your phone after an arrest. Each search lands you on the same skilled team.

Some clients raised outside the United States even search with the British spelling “defence lawyer.” Rest assured, our criminal defense attorneys answer to that name, too. The wording does not matter. The goal is the same. You need a skilled criminal attorney in Georgia who can start protecting your rights right now.

Why Choose Our Criminal Defense Law Firm

Not every criminal lawyer can handle the pace and pressure of Georgia’s busiest metro area. Our criminal defense lawyers appear each week in Superior, State, Magistrate, and Municipal Courts across the region. That is how we learned how local crime legal steps really work. We handle bond hearings and arraignments, plus preliminary hearings, plea deals, and jury trials.

Our partners hold peer-review ratings from Martindale-Hubbell, Avvo, and Super Lawyers. Larry Kohn and Cory Yager also co-author The Georgia DUI Trial Practice Manual with William C. Head. That 1,400-page treatise on Georgia DUI law is updated every year. Learn how to size up any criminal lawyer before you hire one, then compare.

Clients choose our criminal defense attorneys because we offer:

• Fast response after arrest. A defense lawyer from our team can start work on your case right away. That includes asking for a bond cut and an early look at the evidence in the prosecutor’s file.
• Deep courtroom experience. Our criminal law attorney team has tried hundreds of cases before juries. Each partner also knows how to work out a good deal when a trial would be the wrong move.
• State or federal charges. A Georgia county or city prosecutor may be handling your arrest. Or the United States Attorney may be pressing charges for a federal crime. We have attorneys who know both systems.
• Statewide and regional reach. We serve as criminal attorneys near me for clients across the 23-county metro area. We travel to courts all over the region. You do not have to hire separate local counsel in each county.
• Clear fees paid in stages. You pay in steps, based on how far your case must go to reach the best result. We explain the likely cost upfront. That way you can make smart choices with one of our defense attorneys from day one.
• A reputation built on results. Former clients and peer legal groups often recommend our criminal justice attorney practice. Read our client testimonials and case results, or watch our client review video. Keep in mind that every case is different.

Our Criminal Defense Practice Areas

Georgia’s criminal code covers a huge range of offenses. Our criminal law lawyers handle nearly all of them. Core practice areas include:

Felony Crimes Defense

Our felony defense attorney team defends clients charged with aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, weapons possession, and other serious offenses. These crimes carry years in prison. A felony conviction also brings added effects. In Georgia, a person convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude cannot register or vote until the sentence has been completed. Gun rights are lost. Background checks follow you into the job market. Every felony lawyer on our team moves fast on these cases. Read how Georgia separates felony charges from misdemeanors.

DUI and Other Serious Traffic Crimes

License suspensions, state license hearings, and criminal court calendars all move fast after a DUI arrest in Georgia. Many people never read their release paperwork closely. If they did, they would learn about a 30-day window to save limited driving privileges. The clock starts when the officer serves the administrative license suspension notice. That usually happens at the arrest. Miss it, and the license is suspended by default. That happens before the criminal case is ever heard.

Our crime lawyer team acts fast to protect your driving record and your rights. The same speed applies to Georgia hit and run charges and vehicular homicide. Georgia charges these traffic offenses as crimes, not tickets.

Drug Crimes Defense

Drug cases range from simple possession of marijuana to trafficking charges. Those trafficking counts can bring decades in prison. Our drug defense lawyers near me handle these high-stakes cases every week. Georgia sets mandatory minimum prison terms for drug trafficking. So a good defense leans hard on illegal police searches, warrantless seizures, and botched crime lab reports.

Violent Crimes and Domestic Violence

Family violence charges carry serious added effects. Most defendants leave jail under a no-contact bond term. The alleged victim can also ask the court for a temporary protective order (TPO). A TPO can force a person out of their own home before any criminal case is decided. Our defense attorneys build careful, fact-based plans in every domestic violence case and every violent crime prosecution.

Theft, Fraud, and White-Collar Crime

Shoplifting, price-tag swapping, embezzlement, forgery, and identity theft cases call for a criminal attorney who knows the money side of a case as well as the criminal side. A theft or fraud conviction can shut doors in the job market for years. So hire a lawyer who often handles theft crimes and fraud charges.

Juvenile Cases and Record Restriction

We represent minors in juvenile court. We also help their families find a path forward after an arrest. Adults can limit the damage of an old case through Georgia record restriction. Most people call that process expungement. It restricts eligible arrest records from public view.

Whatever the charge, our lawyers for criminal matters start with a full review of the police report, body-camera footage, and arrest facts. That review points to the strongest defense. Act fast to hire a skilled attorney who knows the District Attorney or Solicitor-General on your case. It may be the key to dodging a life-changing criminal record.

Serving Every County in the 23-County Metro Atlanta Region

Our criminal defense lawyers appear each week in courts across the greater Atlanta area. Below is a quick list of the 23 counties we serve. Use it to find a criminal attorney near me no matter where your case is pending.

Fulton County — Georgia’s most populous county and home to Atlanta’s Superior, State, and Municipal Courts. Our criminal defense attorneys handle busy felony and misdemeanor dockets across Fulton. That includes Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Milton, Johns Creek, and Alpharetta.

DeKalb County — DeKalb covers Decatur, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, and Stone Mountain. Its courts see a heavy load of drug, theft, and violent crime charges. Our defense lawyers appear there each week.

Cobb County — Serving Marietta, Smyrna, and Kennesaw, our criminal lawyers know Cobb’s State and Superior Court rules well. They are known for fast, well-prepared work.

Gwinnett County — One of the fastest-growing counties in the state. Gwinnett’s courts in Lawrenceville handle a wide range of felony and misdemeanor cases. Our criminal attorneys defend them daily.

Clayton County — Clayton is home to Jonesboro and the area around Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It sees many drug and theft cases. Our felony defense attorney team has deep experience there.

Cherokee County — Serving Canton and Woodstock. Cherokee’s growing docket includes many drug charges. That is why so many of our clients there first searched for drug defense lawyers near me.

Henry County — Covering McDonough and Stockbridge, our defense attorneys appear often before Henry’s Superior and State Courts.

Douglas County — Serving Douglasville, our criminal defense lawyers know the local prosecutor’s charging habits and plea policies.

Fayette County — Covering Fayetteville and Peachtree City, our criminal attorneys take on both misdemeanor and felony cases.

Rockdale County — Serving Conyers. Our crime attorney near me clients in Rockdale gain from what we know about the county’s court calendar and bond rules.

Coweta County — Covering Newnan, our criminal law attorney team defends clients facing charges across Coweta’s growing docket.

Forsyth County — Serving Cumming, our criminal defense attorneys handle more drug and DUI cases here each year. This county is growing fast.

Hall County — Covering Gainesville, our defense lawyer team appears often in Hall County Superior Court on serious felony cases.

Paulding County — Serving Dallas and Hiram, our criminal lawyers answer fast for people across this western metro county.

Barrow County — Covering Winder, our criminal attorneys are ready to defend clients on the full range of state and local charges.

Newton County — Serving Covington, our criminal defense lawyer team knows Newton’s court schedule and local plea habits.

Carroll County — Covering Carrollton, our defense attorneys take cases from clients across this southwestern metro county.

Bartow County — Serving Cartersville, our felony lawyer team handles cases across Bartow’s Superior and State Court dockets.

Walton County — Covering Monroe, our criminal justice lawyer team stands up for people facing state charges.

Spalding County — Serving Griffin, our crime legal team rounds out the southern edge of our 23-county metro Atlanta footprint.

Jackson County — Serving Jefferson and Commerce, plus the busy Interstate 85 corridor that runs through this growing county.

Athens-Clarke County — Home of the University of Georgia and a fast-growing business community. Our partners handle many Athens DUI arrests. We also take other serious traffic crimes, such as vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle. And we defend the drug, theft, and student-conduct cases that follow campus events where alcohol or drugs were involved.

Oconee County — This bedroom community shares its western border with Athens-Clarke County. Oconee is crossed by the wide University Parkway, also known as Georgia Highway 316. That road runs from Gwinnett County to Clarke County. Many traffic arrests happen in Oconee County. Some come from late-night roadblocks set up after big sporting events.

No matter which of these 23 counties your case falls in, our attorneys’ 96 combined years of criminal defense work are yours. You get the same high-quality help in each court. You do not have to hunt for a different local attorney in every county. Our frequently asked questions page answers common questions about hiring criminal defense counsel.

Meet the Metro Atlanta Criminal Defense Lawyers Behind This Page

Larry Kohn has defended criminal cases in metro Atlanta for more than 25 years. He has handled hundreds of felony cases. He holds Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer-review rating. He also has a 10.0 Avvo rating backed by more than 600 client reviews. He has been named to Georgia Super Lawyers for more than a decade.

Cory Yager spent more than nine years as a Georgia police officer before he became a defense attorney. He served with the Cobb County Police Department and the City of Roswell Police Department. He made thousands of arrests and worked serious-injury and fatal crashes. That training now works for the defense. He knows how officers build a case, so he knows where a case comes apart. He holds the same Martindale-Hubbell peer-review rating and is listed in Georgia Super Lawyers. He also heads the firm’s new Athens office.

Both partners practice alongside William C. “Bubba” Head. He is a Board-Certified DUI defense attorney and the lead author of the treatise our lawyers update every year. When you hire Kohn & Yager, the attorney you meet at the first meeting is the attorney who handles your case. That lawyer digs into the facts, deals with the prosecutor, and stands beside you at trial.

Contact Our Metro Atlanta Criminal Defense Team Today

If you need a criminal attorney near you in metro Atlanta, do not wait to get help. Our defense lawyers offer a private meeting to review the facts of your case. We explain your legal options in clear, plain terms.

We provide a free first consultation with one of our defense attorneys as soon as we can. That is why our phones are answered 24 hours a day, every day, including holidays. Never wait for a first court date to hire counsel. And do not assume a public defender is your only choice if money is tight. Our staged fee plan exists for that reason.

From Fulton and DeKalb to Forsyth and Hall, our team stands with you. We are there at each step of the criminal justice process. We do the same in every other Georgia county when the case calls for it.

Contact our office today to speak with a skilled Georgia criminal defense lawyer. We are open 24 hours for your calls. Because this call and case review are free, why not take the first step to protect your rights, your record, and your future? Dial (404) 567-5515.