A selective Georgia criminal defense trial practice representing clients in serious felony matters across Douglas County, West Georgia, and metro Atlanta.
The prosecution prepares for a plea. We prepare for a verdict.
When the charge threatens your liberty, your reputation, and the rest of your life, the defense cannot be ordinary.
If you've found your way here, it's likely because someone told you she's the one to call.
The Teal Firm maintains a deliberately limited caseload concentrated in serious criminal allegations — state and federal — across Douglas County, Carroll County, metro Atlanta, and courts throughout west Georgia. Preparation, judgment, and trial readiness determine outcomes.
The firm is sought out by clients, families, and counsel who require discretion and a defense built for consequence. Each inquiry is read personally, and every matter is considered on its own facts. If your case is one we can carry well, we will tell you so directly.
A representative selection of recent jury trials and contested matters, presented in summary form and without embellishment.
Acquittal secured in a Gwinnett County aggravated assault and terroristic threats jury trial approximately thirty days after being retained. Client had remained incarcerated for approximately nine months prior to trial.
Not guilty verdict secured in a contested Gwinnett County rape trial.
Acquittal secured in a Whitfield County felony fleeing prosecution despite approximately nine minutes of dashcam pursuit footage offered by the State.
Acquittal secured in a DUI-drugs jury trial despite allegations of marijuana use shortly before driving and positive toxicology findings.
Charges dismissed prior to indictment following early intervention and presentation of exculpatory evidence to the prosecution.
Felony reduced to a non-criminal disposition after motion practice exposed constitutional deficiencies in the underlying investigation.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Matters are described in summary form and anonymized to preserve client confidentiality.
A focused docket. Each engagement evaluated for fit, complexity, and the possibility of meaningful work.
High-exposure state and federal indictments where the path forward is genuinely contested.
Homicide, aggravated assault, and other matters carrying significant custodial exposure.
Contested cases requiring discretion, preparation, and trial-ready advocacy.
State and federal narcotics matters of consequential weight and complexity.
Considered, evidence-driven representation in elevated and contested DUI matters, including DUI-drugs and marijuana allegations.
Federal indictments and target-letter representation in the Northern District of Georgia.
Clients facing serious felony exposure in Georgia retain The Teal Firm for a specific reason: trial preparation, constitutional litigation, and direct attorney involvement from the first meeting through verdict.
Every file is built as if a jury will decide it. Investigation, motion practice, and witness preparation begin at intake — not at calendar call.
Fourth Amendment stops, prolonged detentions, warrant defects, and Miranda issues are litigated as core defense work in serious felony matters.
A deliberately limited docket so each matter receives direct attorney attention through indictment, motion practice, and trial.
High-exposure state and federal charges — violent crimes, drug trafficking, sex offenses, federal indictments — handled with the discipline they require.
The lawyer retained is the lawyer who appears, argues motions, conducts cross-examination, and addresses the jury.
Regular practice in Douglas, Paulding, Carroll, Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Coweta, and adjacent counties — and in the Northern District of Georgia.
Many cases are resolved without a jury. The ones that go to trial are won — or lost — months before opening statement. The Teal Firm builds every file as if it will be tried, because the cases that are not tried resolve on better terms when the prosecution understands they would be.
That posture shapes everything: investigation, motion practice, evidentiary challenges, witness preparation, and the quiet conversations that decide whether an indictment is ever returned.
Kendall Teal is a Georgia criminal trial lawyer and a graduate of Emory University School of Law. Based in Douglasville, she defends serious felony matters in Douglas County, Carroll County, metro Atlanta, and courts throughout west Georgia, and is admitted to practice before the State of Georgia, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Before law, she served in the United States military and worked as a firefighter. The discipline of both — preparation, composure under pressure, the obligation to perform when the consequences are real — shapes how the firm carries every case.
She comes from a Georgia criminal-defense family. Her father practiced criminal defense in this state for more than thirty years. The standards were inherited. The courtroom record is her own.
"Defense is not a posture. It is a discipline."
The National Trial Lawyers · Top 40 Under 40
"Built for the cases prosecutors expect to fight."
The Teal Firm appears in the Superior and State Courts of west Georgia and metro Atlanta — felony arraignments, bond hearings, suppression hearings, evidentiary hearings, and jury trials. Federal matters proceed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Federal Practice · U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia · Appellate · Georgia Court of Appeals
Substantive writing on Georgia criminal procedure, evidentiary practice, and the work of preparing serious felony matters for trial. Written, occasionally, by the lawyer who tries them.
Georgia's per se framework for alcohol does not translate to cannabis. Toxicology rarely establishes impairment at the time of driving, and the State's burden remains exacting. Effective defense begins with the science the prosecution prefers not to litigate.
Trafficking, firearm, and narcotics exposure makes Fourth Amendment litigation decisive. Stops, prolonged detentions, K-9 deployment, and warrant deficiencies are the terrain on which serious felony cases are most often won.
These matters require discipline above all — measured investigation, careful witness preparation, and a defense built for a jury trial that may, by the prosecution's choice, never arrive.
The cases that are not tried resolve on better terms when the prosecution understands they would be. Voir dire, opening, cross, and closing in serious felony cases — written by the lawyer who tries them.
The firm concentrates on serious state and federal criminal matters in Georgia — felonies, violent crimes, drug trafficking, sexual assault allegations, and elevated or contested DUI cases. Each inquiry is reviewed individually, and engagements are accepted when the firm can prepare the matter properly for trial.
Do not make a statement to police, do not consent to searches of phones, vehicles, or premises, and request counsel out loud. Preserve names of witnesses, photographs, and any video. Then contact a Douglas County criminal defense lawyer before the first appearance so bond and early evidence issues can be addressed promptly.
A suppression motion asks the court to exclude evidence the government obtained in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendments — typically through an unlawful stop, prolonged detention, defective search warrant, or improper interrogation. In serious felony cases, a granted motion can collapse the State's case before trial. The firm treats suppression litigation as a core part of trial preparation, not an afterthought.
A judge evaluates whether the accused will appear for court, the risk of intimidation or further offenses, and ties to the community. Counsel presents employment, residence, family, and surety information, and addresses any State objection. In Georgia, certain serious felonies require a Superior Court judge to set bond.
A trial-focused lawyer prepares every file from the first meeting as if a jury will decide it — investigation, motion practice, expert review, and witness preparation. That posture also produces better pre-trial outcomes, because prosecutors negotiate differently with counsel they know will try the case.
The Teal Firm is based in Douglasville and appears regularly in Douglas County, Carroll County, Paulding, Haralson, and throughout west Georgia, as well as Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry, Clayton, Fayette, Coweta, Cherokee, and Bartow in metro Atlanta. Federal matters are handled in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Appellate work is conducted before the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Yes. The office is located at 3142 Golf Ridge Blvd Suite A, Douglasville, Georgia 30135. The firm represents clients across west Georgia and metro Atlanta, and travels to other Georgia courts when the matter warrants it.
Yes. The Teal Firm is built around trial readiness. Every matter is prepared from the first meeting as if it will be tried, which is also why a significant portion of the firm's work resolves on favorable terms short of trial.
Inquiries are received personally and answered with discretion. A confidential consultation is arranged after a brief intake confirms the matter is within the firm's practice.
Inquiries are received personally and answered with discretion. The firm evaluates each matter individually before accepting representation.