For more than 30 years Attorney Jake Arbes has been reuniting inmates with their families by winning their release through parole and other types of post conviction relief. Mr. Arbes has handled hundreds of post conviction matters for adults and juveniles involving parole, parole and probation revocations, plea negotiations, sentencing hearings, pretrial consultations with trial attorneys, sentence reduction, motions for new trial, withdrawals of guilty pleas, state and federal direct appeals,  state and federal habeas corpus petitions, hearings and appeals, claims involving ineffective assistance of counsel, motions for appellate reconsideration, petitions for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, initial prison designations, prison transfers, medical reprieves, maximization of performance incentive credits, disciplinary report appeals, preparation of release plans, transfer of parole between states and internationally, early termination of parole and probation, removal of eligible sex offenders from the sex offender registry, pardons, restoration of civil rights including the right to own a firearm, and, in some cases, expungement of arrest records. Mr. Arbes can also assist inmates who have been injured by mistreatment in prison or while working at their prison jobs.

Of course, the best way to avoid a lengthy prison stay is to never be sentenced to prison in the first place.  Mr. Arbes has been brought in on a number of complex state and federal criminal cases to assist in creative motions to dismiss and plea negotiations which resulted in probation, many times over the strenuous objections of prosecutors.  Through the years he has participated in some of the most highly publicized cases in the southeast, including allegations of corruption at the Atlanta airport, allegations of bribery involving a DeKalb County land developer, allegations of police corruption in Habersham County, allegations of environmental misconduct in Fulton County, allegations of health care and mortgage fraud, and various other fraud and drug cases.  Mr. Arbes participated in the appeal of a nine month trial involving, what was at the time, the largest insurance fraud case in history, a case featured on 60 Minutes.  Mr. Arbes was on the legal team which successfully argued that Christopher Drogoul was being used as a scapegoat and should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea in a highly publicized and extremely complex international case involving Iraqi weapons purchases known as “Iraqgate”.  More recently Mr. Arbes was able to win federal parole for an inmate who had been repeatedly denied parole for more than 30 years in a case involving the murder of a DEA agent in Guam.

Mr. Arbes has earned the respect of his legal colleagues, who frequently call him for advice, and from prisoners all over Georgia, for his creative approach to parole and other forms of post conviction relief and his vigorous attempts to win freedom for his clients.

Mr. Arbes treats his clients with respect.  He charges fair fees and uses written employment agreements clearly setting forth what he will be doing for a particular fee.  Unlike some lawyers who charge large initial retainers and then “churn” their clients with hourly charges for repetitive and unnecessary work, Mr. Arbes charges reasonable fixed fees, depending on the complexity of the case.  With Mr. Arbes, once he has done the initial review of a client’s case, the client knows exactly what the final fee will be before paying any more money.  Furthermore, there is no double billing because the cost of the file review is deducted from the final fee if the client decides to move forward.  Also Mr. Arbes tries to finish all written work in time to show it to his client before submitting it to the Board or the Court.  There are no unpleasant surprises when you deal with Jake Arbes.        

Mr. Arbes was one of the founding members of the Georgia Innocence Project and serves on its Case Selection Committee.  He has given numerous lectures on how to obtain parole in Georgia at various criminal law seminars.   He served as President of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and as a Vice President of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he currently serves as a member of the legislative committee.  He is a past president of the Harvard Club of Georgia.  He has been recognized for his legal abilities by Martindale Hubbell, which has given him its highest rating for both ability and ethics.  He has been listed for many years in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, an honor bestowed on only the top 5% of the attorneys in the country.  In the past he has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine, one of the Top Lawyers in Georgia by Atlanta Magazine, and named a Legal Elite Lawyer by Georgia Trend Magazine.  However, the recognition he is most proud of are the phone calls and letters he receives from grateful clients and their families, many of whom continue to call him years after their release.

If you are serious about your freedom or the freedom of a loved one, call Jake Arbes.