Wrix McIlvaine

In the courtroom

On the criminal side, he has defended white-collar matters involving parallel criminal and civil Department of Justice actions, multi-defendant and multi-jurisdictional drug conspiracies, extradited foreign nationals, RICO and other conspiracy prosecutions, and violent felonies. He has tried 40 felony jury trials, including five murder trials. He has accepted Criminal Justice Act appointments in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia since 2010.

​

On the civil side, he has tried civil cases to juries and litigates civil-rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, civil RICO, business and unfair-competition disputes, and personal-injury cases, for plaintiffs and defendants alike.

​

Other defense lawyers retain him as co-counsel, as a jury consultant, and for independent second opinions in serious criminal matters across Georgia. His cases have been covered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Daily Report, CNN, Fox News, and Court TV.

​

On appeal

He handles criminal and civil appeals in the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He brings a trial lawyer's reading to the record — the preserved objection, the overlooked ruling, the error that appellate-only counsel can miss. He has served as lead counsel in 46 appeals in state and federal court.

​

Career

• Founder, McIlvaine Law Group, Brunswick, 2009–2015 and 2026–present

• Partner, Williams Litigation Group, P.C., Brunswick, 2015–2025

• Supervising Attorney, Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, 2006–2009

• Criminal Justice Act Panel Attorney, United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, 2010–present

​

Education and training

• J.D., cum laude, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 2005

• LL.M., Intellectual Property and Competition Law, University of Augsburg, 2006, earned at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, a joint program of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, the University of Augsburg, the Technical University of Munich, and The George Washington University Law School

• Member, EIPIN Moot Court team, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center

• B.A., University of Delaware, 2002

• In law school, he was a Certified Legal Intern with the San Diego Public Defender's office from January to August 2004, where he tried a jury trial, and then the sole judicial intern for the criminal division of the San Diego Superior Court from August to December 2004.

• Graduate, University of San Francisco Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (2004)

• Graduate, State Bar of Georgia Leadership Academy (2009)

​

Judicial service

• Deputy Magistrate Judge, Magistrate Court of Glynn County (part-time), April 2025–present

• Judge, Brunswick Municipal Court (part-time), October 2023–present

​

Because of this service, the firm does not accept criminal cases in the Superior Court of Glynn County, the State Court of Glynn County, or the Brunswick Municipal Court, and does not accept any case in the Magistrate Court of Glynn County or the Juvenile Court of Glynn County. The firm does handle post-conviction work in criminal cases from the Superior Court and State Court of Glynn County, including motions for new trial and appeals. He may also be retained as a jury or trial consultant in matters in the Superior Court of Glynn County.

​

Bar admissions

• All Georgia trial courts

• Supreme Court of Georgia

• Court of Appeals of Georgia

• United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia

• United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia

• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

​

Recognition

• Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Criminal Law, 2014–2020

• The National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in Georgia, 2014, 2018 and 2023

• The National Trial Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40, Criminal Defense, 2013 and 2014

• Georgia's Rising Stars, Top Lawyers of Georgia, as published in Atlanta Magazine, 2015

• American Association of Attorney Advocates, Top 10 Attorney, Criminal Defense Law, Georgia, 2022

• America's Best Advocates, Top 10 Attorney, Criminal Defense, 2024

• Elite Lawyer, Criminal Defense, 2025

• America's Best Advocates, Top 10 Attorney, Criminal Defense, Choice for Dedication to Justice, 2025