Before I ever represented an injury victim, I stood in courtrooms across Georgia prosecuting some of the most dangerous criminals in our communities. As an Assistant District Attorney in Whitfield County, I handled over 100 felony cases — including a dozen child molestation trials and a murder case. Later, I served in the DeKalb County Solicitor General’s Office, working in the Special Victims Unit.
That experience fundamentally changed how I practice personal injury law today. And it gives my clients an advantage that most personal injury attorneys simply cannot offer.
I Learned How to Read People in the Highest-Stakes Situations
When you are prosecuting a man accused of molesting a child, there is no room for error. You learn to read witnesses — their body language, their hesitations, the micro-expressions that reveal whether someone is telling the truth or constructing a lie. You learn how defense attorneys try to confuse juries, plant doubt, and redirect attention away from the evidence.
Insurance adjusters use the same playbook. They minimize injuries, question credibility, and try to wear victims down until they accept a fraction of what their case is worth. But I have seen every manipulation tactic there is — not from insurance training seminars, but from years of cross-examining witnesses and defending victims in criminal court.
When an insurance company sends their hired medical examiner to say my client’s injuries are not that serious, I know exactly how to dismantle that testimony. I have been doing it since my days at the DA’s office.
Criminal Trial Experience Means I Am Not Afraid of the Courtroom
Here is a reality most people do not know: the vast majority of personal injury attorneys have never tried a case to verdict. They settle everything because they are afraid of what happens when a jury is seated.
I am not one of those attorneys.
By the time I left the prosecutor’s office, I had tried cases in front of juries more times than most civil attorneys will in their entire careers. When I tell an insurance company that I am prepared to go to trial, they know I mean it — because my record proves it.
This is exactly what happened in our Cobb County case. The insurance company offered my client $100,000 and thought we would take it. They assumed we would not risk a trial. We took it to a jury and walked out with a $900,208 verdict. That does not happen unless you have a lawyer who has spent years inside courtrooms and knows how to command a jury’s attention.
The Prosecutor’s Mindset: Build an Unbreakable Case
In the DA’s office, I learned that winning is not about theatrics — it is about preparation. Every felony case I prosecuted required meticulous evidence gathering, witness preparation, and an airtight narrative that left no room for reasonable doubt. The standard of proof in criminal cases — beyond a reasonable doubt — is the highest standard in our legal system.
Personal injury cases require a lower standard: preponderance of the evidence. So when I bring a criminal prosecutor’s discipline to a civil case, I am over-preparing by design. I build cases that are stronger than they need to be, because that is the only way I know how to practice law.
This approach has helped us recover over $60 million for our clients. It is the reason we secured a $2 million wrongful death settlement, a $754,000 recovery for a rear-end collision that the insurance company called “minimal damage,” and a $625,000 settlement for a client with cognitive impairment after a wreck.
From the Special Victims Unit to Fighting for Injury Victims
Working in the DeKalb County Special Victims Unit was some of the most emotionally demanding work I have ever done. You are dealing with the most vulnerable people in our community — abuse survivors, children, families torn apart by violence.
That experience taught me something that shapes every client relationship I have today: people who have been victimized need someone who will believe them, fight for them, and never back down. Whether you have survived a violent crime or a catastrophic car accident, the feeling of helplessness is the same. The sense that powerful forces — whether a criminal defendant with expensive lawyers or an insurance company with unlimited resources — are working against you.
I became a personal injury attorney because I wanted to keep fighting for victims. The courtroom changed, but the mission never did.
Training the Next Generation Through Awad Academy
My prosecutorial background is also the foundation of Awad Academy, where I train personal injury attorneys from across the country. I teach them what the DA’s office taught me: how to build cases that can survive the toughest scrutiny, how to prepare witnesses for cross-examination, and how to present evidence in a way that moves a jury to action.
Most PI training programs focus on marketing and settlement negotiation. At Awad Academy, we focus on trial skills — because an attorney who can actually try a case will always get better results for their clients, whether the case settles or goes to verdict.
What This Means for You
If you have been injured in an accident in Atlanta or anywhere in Georgia, you deserve a lawyer whose courtroom experience goes far beyond personal injury. My background prosecuting felonies, trying cases in front of juries, and protecting the most vulnerable victims in our community is the reason the Awad Law Firm gets the results we do.
Insurance companies respect attorneys who are not afraid to fight. And after more than 100 felony trials, there is nothing an insurance defense lawyer can do in a courtroom that I have not already seen and overcome.
Call my office at (706) 890-0000 or visit us at one of our three Georgia locations — Atlanta, Marietta, or Dalton. The consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win your case.
Related Articles
- Why I Left the Prosecutor’s Office to Fight for Injury Victims
- How I Turned a $100K Offer Into a $900K Jury Verdict
- How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer in Atlanta
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