About Keith Adams | Keith Adams & Associates

2024 Award

Criminal Trial Attorney of the Year

Keith Adams

Founding Attorney · Decatur, Georgia

Keith Adams is not merely a trial attorney; he is one of Georgia's most formidable courtroom forces. With over three decades of experience spanning federal and state courts, Adams has built a career defined by high-stakes victories that other attorneys simply could not achieve. A former prosecutor who once tried the most serious cases in the DeKalb County District Attorney's office, he crossed to the defense bar in 2000 and has never looked back, winning acquittals in murder cases, death penalty trials, and nationally prominent cases that commanded headlines across the country.

A Dean's List graduate of Howard University and a scholarship recipient at Tulane University School of Law, Adams brings the same intellectual precision to the courtroom that marked his academic career. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a National Trial Lawyers Top 100 selection, the 2024 Criminal Trial Attorney of the Year, and an elected member of the State Bar of Georgia's Board of Governors. Whether defending the accused in the gravest criminal matters or fighting for families devastated by catastrophic injury, Keith Adams enters every courtroom with one objective: to win.

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Awards & Recognition

A Career of Excellence

Recognition from the nation's most prestigious legal organizations, only to attorneys who have demonstrated sustained excellence at the highest levels of trial practice.

Criminal Trial Attorney of the Year

2024 · Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

National Trial Lawyers Top 100

Invitation-only recognition of the top trial lawyers in each state

American College of Trial Lawyers

One of the most prestigious legal fellowships in North America, by invitation only

GACDL Friend of the Constitution Award

Recognizing exceptional constitutional advocacy in Georgia's courts

State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors

Elected member representing the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit

Georgia Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Active member and "strike force" attorney for the state's most complex cases

Notable Cases

Selected Trial Record

A selection of significant cases representing the breadth, complexity, and high-stakes nature of Keith Adams's trial practice across more than three decades.

An undocumented immigrant charged with killing a police officer. Adams mounted a self-defense claim across a two-and-a-half month trial. The penalty phase resulted in life with possibility of parole, sparing his client's life.

A deaf-mute client accused of stabbing his drug dealer 31 times. Adams secured an acquittal on self-defense grounds, with the client testifying through a sign language interpreter, one of the most dramatic cases of his career.

Client accused of shooting someone during a gambling dispute. Adams challenged forensic evidence and witness credibility throughout the trial. Jury returned a full acquittal on all counts.

Adams represented one of Atlanta's most prominent rap artists in what became the longest criminal trial in Atlanta history, a nationally watched case that tested Georgia's RICO statute to its limits.

A teacher defendant in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal, one of Georgia's most complex and media-saturated prosecutions. The case was later featured on the Oxygen network documentary series.

A woman claimed she was robbed at gunpoint by a stranger at an ATM. Adams established the two had a prior relationship and the robbery was fabricated. Jury acquitted on all charges.

Head football coach at McNair High School accused of molesting two students in a case that drew significant media coverage. Adams challenged the credibility of the allegations and secured a full acquittal.

Client present when a drug dealer was shot and killed. Adams successfully argued self-defense and secured a not guilty verdict on a charge carrying the possibility of a life sentence.

Client's car placed at the scene of a parking lot robbery. Adams established the defendant had loaned his vehicle prior to the incident with no knowledge of the robbery. Jury acquitted.

Delivery man unknowingly transported a hollowed copier containing a kilogram of cocaine. Adams argued the client was set up by unknown parties. Jury acquitted.

Complex murder case with a jailhouse snitch, cell phone evidence, and drug addict eyewitness. Adams challenged forensic evidence and witness credibility. Jury deadlocked. Mistrial declared.

Appointed as Commission attorney, Adams successfully prosecuted and removed from the bench a sitting judge accused of unethical, abusive, and criminal conduct.