Since leaving public service as one of Georgia’s top federal prosecutors, Charlie Peeler has swiftly ascended the ranks at one of the largest law firms in Atlanta.
Peeler, 51, started 2024 as the managing partner of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders’ flagship Atlanta office. His role within the national firm came exactly three years after he joined it, having ended his time as the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
In addition to maintaining a general trial practice and guiding clients involved in government investigations, Peeler leads more than 500 employees and has helped recruit talent including former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton and Gov. Brian Kemp’s former executive counsel, David Dove.
“I’m of the mind that everybody needs to pull their own weight and contribute where they can,” Peeler told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I did not set out to be the Atlanta office managing partner, but the chair of the firm asked me if I’d be interested in doing that. I explained to him the vision that I had and it matched up with the vision that he had, and so we both felt like it made a lot of sense.”
Peeler has had a varied legal career, including involvement in the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission and the Georgia Attorney General’s Anti-Gang Taskforce.
He grew up in Marietta and went to the University of Georgia for both his undergraduate and law degrees. He met his wife at law school and they wed the weekend after graduation. Peeler then spent five years as an associate in Atlanta, first at Jones & Askew then at King & Spalding, before launching his own litigation firm in Albany, his wife’s hometown.
It was in Albany that Peeler honed his trial skills and cemented his love for the courtroom. A turning point in his career came when representing a prisoner who had been beaten by guards. Peeler became involved in the case six weeks before trial and convinced the jury to award his client damages.
“It gave me a lot of faith in the jury system, because the people on the jury did not share the same background as the prisoner, but were able to see through that and do what they thought was right,” Peeler said. “And it also gave me a level of confidence as a lawyer.”
After 13 years at his small firm, Peeler felt compelled to step into public service. He became the top federal prosecutor in Georgia’s Middle District in 2017, overseeing about 100 staff, including around 35 federal prosecutors.
Peeler clamped down on the criminal over-prescription of opioids by physicians in the district, which encompasses roughly 2 million people living in 70 Georgia counties. The experience representing criminal defendants and managing a law firm gave him a unique perspective as a prosecutor.
In 2020, Peeler decided to leave what he called his “24/7″ public service role, in part to spend more time with his three sons, who were in high school. Rather than return to his Albany firm, he sought a position at a large Atlanta firm with “a lot of resources, where I could take on bigger, more important, higher profile, more impactful cases.”
Troutman Pepper attracted Peeler with its “great brand,” deep Atlanta roots, “A-plus client list” and highly skilled attorneys, he said. The firm has “great lawyers doing great work for great clients, with folks who don’t take themselves too seriously,” Peeler added.
Though Peeler wanted to maintain his trial work, he said he told the firm’s leaders early on that he was willing to contribute in some other way to Troutman’s success. He said his new role leading the firm’s Atlanta office takes up about 30-40% of his time.
“I love being in court,” Peeler said. “I love trying cases. I love interviewing witnesses and having files under my arm on the steps of the courthouse. And I certainly am not at a point in my career where I want to give up being a lawyer.”
Peeler credits his success to his passion for lawyering and teamwork. He said his predecessor, Chuck Palmer, “did a fantastic job” during his tenure as managing partner.
“It was easy for me to take over with kind of a do-no-harm approach,” Peeler said. “I’m super fortunate because here in (the) Atlanta (office), there is a lot of support.”
Melton has worked closely with Peeler since leaving the state Supreme Court.
“He’s bringing that overall, comprehensive, holistic approach to growing the firm,” Melton told the AJC. “My job is to make sure he doesn’t wear himself out in the process.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Peeler also plans to continue to engage with Atlanta’s business and nonprofit community.
“I love what I’m doing right now,” he said. “As long as I still find (the work) challenging, then I think I’ll be sitting right here on the 30th floor of 600 Peachtree (Street) for years to come.”
