Smyrna Appeals & Appellate Lawyers

Edward D. Buckley is one of the founding partners of Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP. Ed was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, by parents who raised him to make a difference for the better. Ed understands the hardships that working people face and has built his law practice championing their cause, focusing his practice on civil rights and employment discrimination cases. He has represented people from virtually every walk of life, including hotel laundry workers, truckers, secretaries, food industry workers, technicians, salespeople, teachers, professors, stockbrokers, CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, longshoremen, doctors and lawyers. He has represented numerous executives in everything...

Tracy S. Reeves, Jr. graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s Degree in both Criminal Justice and Political Science. He then graduated from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School in 2010 after taking a year off to work at Hawkins, Parnell & Young, LLC in the Asbestos and Products Liability Litigation Divisions.

Tracy began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Coweta Judicial Circuit. There he helped in establishing the Gang Intelligence Network as well as training prosecutors and law enforcement officers in investigating and prosecuting gang cases. Tracy was also the head of...

The Law Firm of Leipow & Associates, P.C. was formed in the spirit of service and is dedicated to the representation of individuals and businesses that have been harmed by the actions of others.

The firm is focused on representation of businesses and injured individuals in all state and federal trial and appellate courts.

My experiences in business litigation include a variety of contract disputes between business entities, including asset purchase, distribution, service, and sales agreements. Every business dispute is unique and involves a different set of problems to solve for each business entity involved. Therefore I provide a comprehensive approach...

From the day I started working in the field until today, I have learned the practice of criminal and appellate law from some of the finest attorneys in the country. I respect my clients and their families above all else and am keenly sympathetic to the fact that, when most of them come to me, they have already been through the difficult and emotionally wrenching process that is a criminal trial, only to lose and find themselves or somone they love very much subject to a long term in prison. I never promise anything to my clients other than the...

Tom started The Church Law Firm in 2022 after graduating with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law and becoming a partner at an elite law firm in Atlanta. Since becoming an attorney, Tom has been handling cases involving high profile federal crimes, serious felonies under Georgia law, and civil claims against overreaching government officials, including small businesses that have been unlawfully targeted by law enforcement based on their sale of legal cannabis products (hemp). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tom also secured the release of over a dozen federal inmates based on their age, medical conditions, or excessively...

Brian Tevis graduated from the University of Georgia in 2002 and Wake Forest University School of Law in 2007. He has aggressively and successfully defended the criminal accused since 2008. He is an experienced trial lawyer and handles every kind of criminal charges including, but not limited to, complex felony cases including Drug Trafficking, RICO and Gang cases, Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery, Sex Crimes, and Murder. He is also admitted to all U.S. District Courts in Georgia (Southern, Middle, and Northern, ) and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and has defended federal clients in drug trafficking, bank...

Attorney Akil Kenneth Secret is a licensed attorney in the States of Georgia and Nebraska. His practice focuses on Serious Personal Injury Litigation, Wrongful Death Litigation and Major Criminal Defense. Mr. Secret has represented defendants in numerous high profile state and federal cases. He has tried hundreds of cases with extraordinary success. Mr. Secret has represented Lawyers, Doctors, Accountants, Real Estate Brokers and Agents and Corporate Executives. Attorney Akil Secret attended University of Nebraska and transferred to attend Morehouse College where he pursued his undergraduate studies until 1973 with a major in Political Science. He attended Atlanta Law School and earned...

Since starting Rachel Kaufman Law in June of 2015, Rachel has provided top-notch legal representation to hundreds of clients throughout the State of Georgia. In that short time, Rachel has gained a reputation for being a highly passionate and highly effective courtroom advocate. Amongst her colleagues, judges and courtroom personnel, Rachel is known for being a smart fighter, who can see through the tumbleweeds and intuitively zero-in on which strategic routes need to be taken to get to the best outcome possible. No matter the charge (DUI, Murder, Drug Offense, etc.), Rachel approaches each client’s situation with family-like loyalty and...

Partner David Messer brings a dynamic courtroom presence and significant trial experience to the firm, which he joined in 2007. As a trial lawyer in Oklahoma for six years, David achieved both legally and socially significant appeals and courtroom victories. His current trial practice focuses on a full spectrum of business law, with an emphasis on all phases of business litigation and dispute resolution, including trials, appeals, mediation, and arbitration. David has been successful in oil and gas litigation, construction and engineering disputes, homeowners' association disputes, election disputes, and business disputes of all kinds, including high net-worth matters involving family-owned...

Beverly Cohen has been representing clients in divorce and family law matters for over 20 years. She has a reputation for providing her clients with the highest level of representation in the most cost-effective manner. Beverly is dedicated to creating an environment of trust and confidence between her clients and herself. She prides herself on maintaining communication with her clients, promptly returning phone calls, responding to emails, and reasonable billing practices. Her knowledge, experience, and dedication to her clients has resulted in a high level of client satisfaction. At the time she began practicing law, Beverly...

In 2023, David was part of the trial team that obtained a $38.6 million verdict in a complex medical malpractice case. In 2022, he was lead counsel in two medical malpractice jury trials and obtained jury verdicts for his clients in each. In addition to trial work, David is routinely retained to represent clients in complex appellate matters with outstanding results. David has argued, and won, cases at the Georgia Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Court of Appeals. Before forming starting his own firm, David practiced for a decade at the premier medical malpractice...

Jess Johnson is one of the best young lawyers in Georgia. He has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in criminal defense and civil litigation by Super Lawyers Magazine for the past several years. While only 2.5% of lawyers in Georgia under the age of 40 receive such an honor, Jess was first named to this list after only 3 years of practice.

Jess has been instrumental in our firm’s success in both trials and appeals. In his very first trial, Jess was awarded an Acquittal Award from the Federal Defender Program for helping our firm win a “not guilty” verdict...

Albert Wan is an attorney based in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in criminal defense and civil rights litigation. He is admitted to practice in Georgia and New York courts. To learn more about Mr. Wan and his law practice please visit his website at: http://www.albertwanlaw.com

Sydney received her law degree from the University of Alabama after completing her undergraduate studies at Ole Miss. While at the University of Alabama School of Law, Sydney studied criminal law and criminal defense under the current Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders of New York, and earned top honors for her work in Alabama’s criminal defense clinic. She also served as the Ethics Opinions Editor for Volume 35 of the Journal of the Legal Profession. After graduating from law school, Sydney worked as a Staff Attorney at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Sydney...

I have been specializing in criminal law for 20 years, the first 7 years as a prosecutor. For the last 13 years, I have been defending individuals charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors and traffic offenses to serious violent felonies.

Alex Susor is the founder of the Law Offices of Alex Susor in Decatur, Georgia. His practice consists of state and federal criminal defense, post-conviction criminal appeals, petitions for habeas corpus relief, plaintiff’s personal injury claims, and representation of K-12 public school teachers in Georgia Teacher Fair Dismissal Act and Professional Standards Commission administrative hearings. Alex was a co-recipient of the 2009 Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers "Case of the Year" Award for his successful appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court of the state’s kidnapping statute and has been invited to testify as an expert before the Georgia Senate and...

State prosecutor for over 11 years; have tried over 100 felony cases, including 2 death penalty cases. As a defense attorney since then, I have specialized in appeals of criminal convictions, achieving a very high reversal rate. Currently actively engaged in a death penalty appeal, awaiting the docketing notice from the Georgia Supreme Court. Criminal law is all that I have done in my career, and I have a passion for the work I do. I also have a deep commitment to my clients. As I tell all of my clients and potential...

Yasha Heidari is a founding member of Heidari Power Law Group LLC (H&P). He is well known both for his litigation focus and for his versatility. Yasha has given lectures and presided over seminars in many areas of the law, including ethics law, administrative and regulatory law, best business practices, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the role of Intellectual Property in the age of digital media. Moreover, Yasha has presented numerous papers with topics ranging from modern day questions concerning technology to complex game-theory models at the London School of Economics. Yasha holds a juris doctor...

Kate fiercely believes that everyone has the right to a fair trial and an excellent lawyer. She brings an unmatched passion for justice and a discerning academic eye to every case she works on. Beginning her career as a public defender, Kate gained significant experience representing the poor in the State and Superior Courts of Clarke and DeKalb County, Georgia. During her time in public defense, she handled hundreds of cases and spent thousands of hours in the courtroom fighting for her clients. She has argued dozens of pre-trial motions and successfully kept the prosecution from being able to introduce illegally-collected...

Attorney Jacob Rhein represents people who have been harmed by the negligence, dishonesty, or incompetence of lawyers and other fiduciaries. He also represents individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries, including in slip and fall and auto accident cases. Rhein has a reputation among his peers for novel legal argument and fierce loyalty to his clients. These abilities are best demonstrated in his results as a “second lawyer.” Rhein frequently spots issues in the law that other lawyers have missed, and is able to craft these issues into effective advocacy at trial, in post-judgment proceedings, and on appeal. Rhein's main...

State Bar of Georgia, 1980 Member: State Bar of Georgia (Family Law, Fiduciary Law sections) Gwinnett County Bar Association (Family Law and Elder Law sections) Education: University of Georgia School of Law (J.D., 1980) University of Georgia (B.A., magna cum laude, 1976); Phi Beta Kappa Publications: Domestic Relations, Annual Survey of Georgia Law, 1979-1980, 32 Mercer Law Review 51 (1980). Domestic Relations, Annual Survey of Georgia Law, 1980-1981, 33 Mercer Law Review 109 (1981).

Tyler Carey grew up in Athens, Ohio and moved to Augusta, Georgia for college where he attended and graduated from Augusta University. During his undergraduate studies, Tyler was a member of the Student Conduct Board, as well as awarded the Who’s Who Among American College Students from Universities. After Augusta University, Tyler moved to Loganville to attend Emory University’s School of Law.

During Tyler's first year of law school, he interned for Bryan Frost which sparked his desire to help those overwhelmed by the legal system.

During his time at Emory, Tyler helped write am amicus curie brief to the United States...

As a partner in one of the largest law firms in North Georgia, Rustin defended insurance companies and large businesses before co-founding Smith Hulsey. He has handled cases in both federal and state courts, appearing in U.S. District Courts and counties throughout Georgia. He has argued before the Supreme Court of Georgia, and litigated appeals in the Georgia Court of Appeals and U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit. Rustin graduate magna cum laude from the University of Georgia before attending Emory University School of Law, where he was selected for the Dean’s List, received the Dean’s Award, and was recommended...

Stewart Bratcher is a trial attorney with over a decade of experience in Georgia courtrooms. Upon graduation from law school in 2005 he accepted a position as an Assistant District Attorney in the Cherokee Judicial Circuit (Bartow and Gordon Counties) where he remained employed until founding The Bratcher Firm. While employed as a prosecutor, Stewart handled thousands of criminal cases ranging from traffic violations to capital murder and tried over 100 cases to verdict before a jury or judge in Superior Court. As the office appellate specialist, Stewart served as appellate counsel in more than 20 cases and orally argued...

Morris earned his Juris Doctorate at Georgia State University's College of Law in 2013 and his Bachelor of Science in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006. After completing his undergraduate degree, Morris considered a career in academic philosophy. This plan changed after Morris completed the "Philosophy of Law" course at Georgia State University, when he realized that while philosophers typically end their discussions with journal entries, jurists end theirs with court orders backed by the power of the state. Morris has wide-ranging litigation experience, including family law, criminal defense, and personal injury casework, with an overwhelmingly successful...

We understand that being accused of a crime can be stressful and you have important questions. We can provide easily understandable answers at this critical time.

Through years of experience handling complex and demanding criminal cases, Vic Wiegand has gained a reputation for getting results.

We stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients and fight for their rights. A tough minded and determined litigator.