Kamal Ghali is a co-founder of Chaiken Ghali LLP, a former federal prosecutor, and a top-ranked white collar criminal defense and business litigation attorney recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Over the last seventeen years, Mr. Ghali has handled some of the biggest criminal and civil cases in the country, including high-profile white collar criminal fraud investigations and trials; high-stakes business disputes involving racketeering (RICO) and fraud allegations in state and federal court; and a wide range of international cybersecurity matters.
He is described in Chambers USA as a “brilliant attorney,” a “great legal strategist who anticipates all sides of a case,” “an excellent trial lawyer,” and an “excellent courtroom advocate, sharp and quick on his feet.” It further notes his “fantastic ability to explain complex legal and technology-related topics” and his “particular expertise in matters concerning cybercrime.” He has received numerous awards and commendations for his trial and litigation skills, including praise from a federal judge who described his courtroom performance as “excellent,” “outstanding,” and as hitting a “home run” in the “bottom of the ninth.”
While his work runs the gamut from squaring off against federal prosecutors and regulators in court to conducting corporate internal investigations, he has also secured significant client wins without setting foot in a courtroom. He has successfully resolved numerous criminal investigations without the filing of any criminal charges against his clients and without any negative media publicity. Likewise, he has helped businesses and executives settle contentious, bet-the-company business disputes, including the settlement of a multi-billion-dollar dispute over the ownership of two nuclear power plant units.
Before co-founding Chaiken Ghali LLP, he was a partner at a prominent Atlanta-based litigation firm where he led the white collar criminal defense practice, founded the cyber & digital litigation practice, and resolved numerous high-stakes business disputes. Before that, he served as a U.S. Department of Justice white collar and cybercrime prosecutor for over six years, including as a deputy chief at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta. As a federal prosecutor, he worked closely with the FBI, IRS, SEC, and other agencies on white collar criminal matters ranging from multi-week securities fraud trials to high-profile cybercrime prosecutions, including the prosecution of the developers of SpyEye—a notorious malware that caused over one billion dollars in losses worldwide. He previously served as a judicial law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
He serves on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.