Donald F. Samuel
Attorney Profile
Top Rated Criminal Defense Attorney in Atlanta, GA
- Criminal Defense (50%),
- Criminal Defense: White Collar (50%)
Renowned criminal defense attorney Donald F. Samuel is a partner with the Garland, Samuel & Loeb, P.C., law firm in Atlanta, Georgia. A recognized leader in criminal law, Mr. Samuel has published numerous works related to his practice, including the Georgia Criminal Law Case Finder and the Eleventh Circuit Criminal Handbook.
A top-rated attorney with over 37 years of legal experience, he serves clients throughout the Atlanta metro region who face serious federal and state criminal charges, and he has successfully tried cases in federal and appellate courts across the country. No stranger to high-profile cases, he has served as lead or co-counsel in several criminal trials involving notable public figures, including famous professional athletes, prominent physicians and entertainment professionals.
A 1975 graduate of Oberlin College, Mr. Samuel obtained his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1980, where he served as editor for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. The State Bar of Georgia admitted him to practice in 1980, and he is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Highly active in his legal community, Mr. Samuel is a member of several professional legal organizations, and he is the past-president of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Samuel also serves as adjunct legal professor at Georgia State University, and he frequently conducts lectures throughout the country on a variety of legal topics related to criminal defense and effective appellate practices.
In 2014, he received the Rees Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for his outstanding accomplishments and contributions to his profession.
Criminal Defense (50%): Criminal Law
Criminal Defense: White Collar (50%): Criminal Law - Federal
Criminal Law, Criminal Law - Federal
Selections
Super Lawyers: 2004 - 2019
Top Lists
- Top 100: 2019 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2017 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2016 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2015 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2015 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2014 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2013 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2012 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2010 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2009 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2008 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2007 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2006 Georgia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2005 Georgia Super Lawyers
Certificates and Credentials
To: Donald F. Samuel
Super Lawyers: Potential Client Inquiry
Additional Sources of Information About Donald F. Samuel
About Donald Samuel
Admitted: 1980, Georgia
Professional Webpage: https://www.gsllaw.com/Attorneys/Donald-F-Samuel.shtml
Honors/Awards:
- Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America
- Rees Smith Lifetime Achievement Award, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2014
- Best Lawyers in America, 1993-Present
- Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Editor, University of Georgia School of Law
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Supreme Court of Georgia, 1980
- U.S. Tax Court, 1994
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1992
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1982
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 1980
- Georgia, 1980
- American College of Trial Lawyers, 2000 - Present
- American Board of Criminal Lawyers, Member, 1999 - Present
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), Member
- Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL), Past-President
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Abolishing the Forfeiture Laws, Georgia Bar Journal, Spring, 1995
- The 1994 Georgia Criminal Procedure Discovery Bill, Georgia Bar Journal, January, 1995
- The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986: Will Attorneys Be Taken to the Cleaners?, Georgia Bar Journal, Spring, 1988
- Georgia RICO, Georgia Bar Journal, Winter, 1984
- Federal Criminal Law Digest, James Publishing Company, 1999
- Eleventh Circuit Criminal Handbook, Lexis Law Publishing
- Geogria Criminal Law Case Finder, Lexis Law Publishing
- Northern District of Georgia Federal Public Defenders and CJA counsel annual St. Crispin's Day seminar (2010 - 2014)
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New Orleans conference on Defending Sexual Assault Cases (2012)
- Mississippi Public Defenders (October 2012)
- Conference of Arizona Public Defenders, Keynote Speaker, August, 2012
- Featured Speaker at the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers at the September, 2009
- Advanced Criminal Law Seminar, State Bar Of Florida (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015): "Recent Developments in the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court"
- Eleventh Circuit Appellate Practice Institute (October 2008): "Rehearings and Rehearings En Banc in the Eleventh Circuit"
- Federal Defenders of the Middle District of Alabama (December 2008): "Overview of United States Supreme Court Term, 2008-2009"
- Adjunct Professor, Georgia State University, School of Law
- Speaker, National Conference of Federal Public Defenders
- Speaker, American Bar Association Annual Meeting
- Speaker, Continuing Legal Education Seminars in Georgia
- Speaker, Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference, 1999
Verdicts/Settlements:
- State v. Dorsey
- US v. Sullivan (United States District Court)
Educational Background:
- Oberlin College, 1975
Donald F. Samuel:
Last Updated: 7/16/2018