Last updated: 23 October 2026. This profile is based on court records and published reporting. It is not legal advice.
Short answer: Brian Steel is an Atlanta criminal defence and appellate lawyer who runs The Steel Law Firm with his wife, Colette. He became nationally known as Young Thug’s lead lawyer in the YSL RICO trial, the longest trial in Georgia history. In 2025 he was part of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ defence, and on 11 September 2026 he helped win Lil Durk’s acquittal on all five federal murder-for-hire charges. His fees and net worth are not public.
Key takeaways
- Steel was born in Queens, New York, studied business at the University of Michigan (1987) and law at Fordham (JD, 1990), and started his career at the Fulton County Public Defender’s Office.
- He is regarded as one of Georgia’s leading criminal appeals lawyers, with around 300 published opinions and dozens of reversals.
- In the YSL trial he was held in contempt in June 2024 for refusing to reveal how he learned of a private meeting between the judge, prosecutors and a witness. The judge was later removed from the case.
- He joined Lil Durk’s defence in March 2026, working alongside lead counsel Drew Findling, and the jury acquitted Durk after three days of deliberation.
- Drake and PartyNextDoor named a 2025 song “Brian Steel” after him.
Who is Brian Steel?
Brian Steel grew up in Queens, New York. He earned a BBA from the University of Michigan in 1987 and a law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1990. He began practising in 1991, worked as a public defender in Fulton County, Georgia, and in 1997 opened The Steel Law Firm in Atlanta with his wife, Colette Resnik Steel, who is also a lawyer.
Before the rap cases made him famous, Steel was best known among lawyers for appellate work. He has represented judges, FBI agents, doctors, elected officials and businesses, and in 2024 defended former Brunswick district attorney Jackie Johnson, whose case was dismissed in February 2025. He has been named a Georgia Super Lawyer every year since 2004.
What happened in the Young Thug YSL trial?
In May 2022, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged rapper Jeffery Williams (Young Thug) and 27 others in a 56-count racketeering indictment, alleging his YSL label was a criminal street gang. Williams was denied bond. Jury selection began in January 2023, and the trial ran for close to two years, the longest in Georgia’s history.
The turning point came in June 2024. Steel learned that Judge Ural Glanville had held a private meeting with prosecutors and a key witness without the defence present. When Steel refused to reveal his source, the judge held him in contempt and ordered him to spend weekends in jail. The incident drew national criticism, and in July 2024 Glanville was removed from the case. Judge Paige Whitaker took over.
On 31 October 2024, Williams pleaded guilty to drug and gun charges and entered non-negotiated pleas to the gang and racketeering counts. He was sentenced to time served and probation, and walked free after more than two and a half years in custody.
Did Brian Steel represent Diddy?
Yes. In April 2025 Steel joined the legal team defending Sean Combs in his federal sex trafficking and racketeering case in New York. In July 2025 the jury acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, the most serious charges, and convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act. He was sentenced to 50 months in prison. Steel was one of several lawyers on a large defence team.
How did Brian Steel help Lil Durk?
Rapper Lil Durk (Durk Banks) was charged federally in Los Angeles with murder-for-hire offences linked to the 2022 shooting that killed Saviay’a Robinson, a cousin of rival rapper Quando Rondo. Steel joined the defence in March 2026, alongside lead attorney Drew Findling.
Steel’s main job at trial was to undermine the government’s cooperating witnesses. He cross-examined admitted shooter Kacey “OTF Jam” Hester, using jail calls to attack his credibility, and argued another associate was the real organiser. On 11 September 2026, after three days of deliberation, the jury found Durk not guilty on all five counts. Durk was not released, because he faces a separate racketeering case in Los Angeles that was scheduled to start on 5 October 2026.
How much does Brian Steel charge?
Steel does not publish his fees, and none of his high-profile clients has disclosed what they paid. In complex federal or RICO cases, top defence lawyers usually charge large flat fees or retainers rather than hourly rates, and the cost of a multi-month trial can run into seven figures once investigators and experts are included. Any specific number you see online for Steel’s fee is a guess.
What is Brian Steel’s net worth?
It has not been disclosed, and no credible financial publication has estimated it. He has run his own firm for nearly 30 years and taken on some of the most expensive criminal cases in the country, so he is clearly a high earner, but that does not tell us what he is worth. For context on lawyers whose wealth is documented, see our list of the richest lawyers in the world.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Brian Steel?
Brian Steel is an Atlanta criminal defence and appellate lawyer, founder of The Steel Law Firm, known for representing Young Thug, Sean Combs and Lil Durk.
Why was Brian Steel held in contempt?
In June 2024 he refused to tell the YSL trial judge how he found out about a private meeting between the judge, prosecutors and a witness. The judge held him in contempt; the judge was later removed from the case.
Was Lil Durk found not guilty?
Yes. On 11 September 2026 a Los Angeles federal jury acquitted Lil Durk on all five murder-for-hire charges. He still faces a separate racketeering case.
Is there a song about Brian Steel?
Yes. Drake and PartyNextDoor released a song titled “Brian Steel” on their 2025 album Some Sexy Songs 4 U.
Where did Brian Steel go to law school?
Fordham University School of Law, graduating in 1990.
Related: Jose Baez: net worth and famous cases and Kevin Reddington and the Lindsay Clancy case.
Featured image: Brian Steel. Photo: The Steel Law Firm, P.C.
Where the legal industry reads first.
Enjoyed this article? Get the biggest legal industry updates, deals, appointments, insights and expert interviews in your inbox, free.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.From Legal Desire
Is your firm the one being cited, or the one being skipped?
We ran the test. On several everyday legal questions, software companies are answering and law firms are not. We help firms fix that, and we build the technology behind the practice.
Lawyers and firms: get featured on Legal Desire
Share your deals, lateral moves, firm news and insights with 1M+ monthly readers: founders, law firm partners, general counsel and practising lawyers across the US, UK, EU and GCC.
Get featuredSubmit a press release
