As the new year approaches, we look back over the past year with confidence that our firm has fought hard for our clients and obtained the best results possible in their cases. That includes our firm’s forfeiture cases, where the State has seized a person or a company’s property and takes the property owner to court to try to keep the property permanently. We have also sued law enforcement officials for the return of our clients’ property through civil lawsuits. The seized property in these kinds of cases usually includes large amounts of money (often bulk cash), expensive electronics or other equipment, commercial product inventories, and, in some cases, even buildings and the land they sit on.
In 2024, our firm recovered over $1 million worth of seized property for our clients. That includes real estate, vehicles, and over $800,000 in cash. Our firm was able to obtain major victories in several kinds of seized property cases, including contested forfeiture hearings, settlements, and our firm was even able to get the State’s forfeiture claims dismissed outright in five different cases, avoiding the need to put our clients through a trial or hearing.
Our clients have been successful in these cases because our firm is experienced, diligent, and aggressive in our approach to forfeiture cases and other cases where the State has seized our clients’ property.
One important tool in our arsenal are Georgia’s forfeiture laws themselves, which create several strict requirements that the State must meet before it can keep seized property. These include requirements that the State allege a criminal activity tied to the seized property as well as timing requirements for when the State can file a forfeiture claim and when it must give the property owner an opportunity to be heard in court. In several cases, we were able to get forfeiture charges dismissed because the State failed to meet some of these requirements.
Our firm is also able to create leverage in these cases that give us an advantage in contested forfeiture hearings and in negotiating favorable deals for our clients. For example, our firm is known for utilizing the subpoena power to compel testimony from important witnesses and obtaining critical records from law enforcement and other organizations. In several cases, the prosecution has agreed to give up forfeiture claims or has lost in court because we prepare an aggressive defense.
We aim to continue building on our success in forfeiture cases in 2025 and beyond. We are grateful that so many people and businesses have placed their faith and trust in us when law enforcement has wrongfully seized their property and is trying to permanently deprive them of their property rights. We hope that more will continue placing their faith and trust in us, and we are ready to fight for them too.
