Kim T. Stephens

Kim T. Stephens ranks as one of the most accomplished trial lawyers and attorneys in the state of Georgia. With more than twenty-five years of experience in litigation, Kim has successfully resolved numerous high profile cases, defending professional and college athletes, doctors, police officers, and teachers charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to serious felony crimes.

Kim has extensive experience in the areas of criminal law, personal injury, business and contract litigation, and probate law in the Athens area and around the State of Georgia. He practices in all courts including federal courts, superior and state courts, local municipal courts, probate courts, recorders courts, UGA student hearings, administrative hearings, and appellate courts.

Kim represents individuals charged with misdemeanor crimes, including DUI; felony crimes, including drug charges, sexual offenses, family violence crimes, burglary, theft, and murder; and federal crimes throughout Georgia, providing an aggressive defense for his clients and consistently achieving optimal results for the people he represents.

Kim is recognized both locally and nationally for his professionalism and skills as a litigator. He has earned the rank of superb on avvo.com, achieving the highest possible score on the ten point scale that AVVO uses to grade attorneys. AVVO, the world’s largest online database committed to reviewing and ranking attorneys, awards the 10.0 ranking to less than 1% of attorneys nationally, placing Kim in the top percentage of attorneys in the United States.

Martindale Hubbell, an attorney peer review database, has recognized Kim as “distinguished counsel,” which is a widely respected mark of achievement, differentiating a lawyer from his or her competition and reflecting a high level of respect in the legal community.

More locally, the Athens Banner Herald named Kim as the people’s choice attorney for litigation in both 2013 and 2014. The Reader’s Choice Awards are based on votes from citizens in the Athens area and reflect Kim’s stellar reputation as a DUI defense attorney and a criminal attorney in the local community.

Kim has provided expert legal commentary and/or given interviews to both regional and national news media, including: the Athens Banner Herald, the Red and Black, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, ABC news, Fox news, ESPN, CBS news, and many other local and national news organizations.

Kim ultimately chose to attend the University of Georgia where he started 46 games (a Bulldog record at the time) and lettered for four years on the Bulldogs’ football team receiving numerous academic and athletic honors including: team captain; NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship; Region III GTE Academic All American; Toyota Leadership Award; Football News All American; Academic All Southeastern Conference; and All Southeastern Conference. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and later a Masters Degree in Sport Management from the University of Georgia.

Kim scored in the ninety-ninth percentile on the LSAT, allowing him to attend any law school of his choosing. Kim earned his law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law, choosing this program because it allowed him to work full time to pay his way through law school. Kim was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1993. Kim turned down job offers from large Atlanta law firms because of his desire to return to Athens—in his opinion, the best town in the South. In Athens, he worked with the largest law firm in Northeast Georgia as a litigator, handling personal injury cases, civil matters, UGA Student cases, NCAA investigations, and criminal cases around the State of Georgia, and in the Southeastern United States. He opened his own law office in 1998 and honed his craft as a trial lawyer becoming by reputation and performance one of the top criminal and civil trial attorneys in Athens and Northeast Georgia.

Kim is a member of the Georgia Bar Association, the Western Circuit Bar Association, the Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer Association, and the National Criminal Defense Lawyer Association. He has been admitted to practice law in the Georgia Supreme Court, Georgia Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia. Kim was the director and representative of the Younger Lawyer Division of the State Bar of Georgia. He remains an active member of the Georgia Letterman’s Club.

Kim serves the community in a variety of ways outside his law practice. He was a State 4-H Board Volunteer Advisor and a member of the Georgia Master 4-H Club. Kim has coached numerous Little League and Youth Soccer teams and was a lay football coach at Athens Academy for seven years. Kim uses his trial skills and knowledge of the rules of evidence as the primary attorney coach for the Westminster Mock Trial Team and has assisted the team to numerous region and district titles. He is a member of the First United Methodist Church and an active member of the Athens Chamber of Commerce. Kim also contributes to Clarke County School booster clubs and participates in fundraising events for the local area public schools, including Newspapers for Education. Kim is also a member of the Sphinx Club, the oldest honorary society at the University of Georgia, which recognizes students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have made significant contributions to the University of Georgia, the State of Georgia, and the nation. The Sphinx Club is a highly selective organization, initiating less than ten members per year.