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Federal Criminal Defense
By the time you learn a federal case exists, agents have usually been working it for months. The window that matters most is before indictment, and it closes quietly.
The Approach
Federal cases are won early or defended late.
A target letter, a grand jury subpoena, or an agent’s business card on your door is the moment to get counsel, not after charges are filed. Federal prosecutors decide what to charge, against whom, and when, and those decisions can still be influenced at the investigation stage. Whether you are a witness, a subject, or a target matters enormously, and that status can change based on what you do next.
Federal court is a different arena: sentencing guidelines, detention hearings instead of bond schedules, restrictive discovery rules, and a prosecution that arrives at indictment with its case already built. Defending there means understanding the guidelines math from the first conversation, because it drives every decision the government makes.
We represent clients in the Northern District of Georgia and coordinate with counsel in other districts, in investigations and prosecutions involving the FBI, IRS, DEA, and other federal agencies.
What we handle
Federal matters we handle.
- Grand jury subpoenasDocument and testimony subpoenas, and the privilege questions they raise.
- Target & subject representationPre-indictment advocacy while charging decisions are still being made.
- Wire & mail fraudThe government’s broadest tools, defended transaction by transaction.
- Federal drug conspiraciesMulti-defendant cases built on wiretaps, informants, and cooperation.
- Federal firearm offensesPossession and trafficking charges with mandatory sentencing exposure.
- Detention hearingsThe first fight in every federal case: going home while it is pending.
Questions
Before you call.
What is the difference between a witness, a subject, and a target?
A witness has information. A subject’s conduct is within the scope of the investigation. A target is someone the prosecutor believes committed a crime. Counsel’s first job is finding out which one you are, and keeping you from becoming the next one up.
Should I just explain my side to the agents?
Not without counsel. Agents conduct interviews after reviewing documents you have not seen, and an innocent misstatement can become a separate charge. Your side gets told, through counsel, at the right moment.
Do federal cases ever get dismissed before charges?
Investigations are closed or narrowed at the pre-indictment stage, and that is where advocacy has the most room to work. No lawyer can promise that outcome; what we commit to is making the strongest case for it, early.
Contact
Talk to a trial lawyer today
Tell us what you are facing. We will tell you where you stand and what to do next.
Canton Office
101 Woodland Way, Suite 1C
Canton, GA 30114
Phone: (770) 693-8715
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Florida office, by appointment:
1831 NW 33rd Street
Oakland Park, FL 33309
Request a consultation
Confidential. No obligation. We respond during business hours, usually the same day.
Criminal and civil matters go directly to Mitch Skandalakis. Prefer the phone? Call (770) 693-8715.